Because Love Simply Isn't Necessary
by solitaryloner
Summary: A series of mostly unrelated one-shots and drabbles, with or without romance. Main pairing throughout will be LenKu. Genres and ratings will vary. Will be updated frequently. Feel free to give me an idea or request if you want me to do a one-shot for this series. I might do other pairings as well but LenKu will be my main priority. Usual rules apply - no yaoi, yuri or LenRin.
1. Chapter 1

_**Solitaryloner: **__I'm going to turn this into a series of mostly unrelated drabbles and one-shots, for all the ideas that I have in my head, but are not developed enough to have stories of their own. This is also so that I don't have to keep creating new one-shots all the time._

_I'm leaving the rating as T. Some of the stories might be M rated, but I'll warn readers at the very top if the rating is M. Ratings for this story collection will probably range from K to M. Likewise, genres for this story can range from romance to science-fiction or whatever._

_These stories will mostly have the LenKu pairing. It's my OTP, after all. Maybe this will be a ridiculously long series and I will manage to hit 1000 reviews, I don't know. That's actually a far-fetched dream of mine; you can expect frequent updates for this, since I toy around with new ideas more than thinking of ways to continue my multi-chapters (I am sorry.)._

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Story One – Bestial.

He was careful, almost wary as he approached the cage. Even after being exposed to so many supernatural beings, he was still a little nervous when it came to meeting a new species. If it wasn't for the fact that his superior, Kaito Shion, was on medical leave today…he wouldn't be trapped here, stuck with the task of classifying and studying up on this new creature.

_Succubus…_he knew what was within that cage. He knew what a succubus was – a female which feasted on the sexual energy and vitality of young men, draining them for her own survival. This was just the first time they had ever managed to capture one; to tell the truth, he wasn't looking forward to this. The cage shook and rattled, causing him to pause in his approach. The red velvet curtains covering the cage fluttered, concealing what was within.

There was just something about succubi, something about them which enthralled the human imagination, something which made them seem exotic and wonderful – desirable, even. He couldn't help scoffing a little at the thought – the way present generations had romanticised all manner of supernatural creatures, such as werewolves or vampires. There was no denying that these beings were unnaturally flawless; hence the word _supernatural_. However, real vampires and werewolves would never deign to fall for a mortal – they were predators through and through. Strength and power were all that mattered – humans were weaklings.

He wondered whether succubi were anything like that, like the rest of their supernatural brethren. There was little documentation or information regarding the succubi and incubi race – they were known to be seductive and attractive, so they could attract their victims sexually. Of course, everyone knew what they feasted on to survive. But other than the fact that they were beautiful and sexual creatures with ravenous carnal appetites, little else was known about them – they were enigmas, so rarely encountered that they were almost genuine myths.

He was part of the Hunters Organisation – called that for lack of a better title – and, as what the name implied, they hunted down dangerous supernatural creatures and eliminated them. Of course, they left the supernatural populace alone most of the time – they only interfered when such creatures started killing humans out of spite or fun, instead of for pure survival.

He joined this organisation because his sister had been killed by a vampire. At that time, he didn't know that such creatures existed; obsessed with his sister's death, suspecting that the cause of death was as unnatural as unnatural could be – what manner of murderer would drain a body of all its blood? He started off on a wild whim, entertaining the notion of vampires, especially when the police could find no trace of evidence, nothing at all – the idea grew in his head, leading him to slowly suspect that such creatures might not be just legends.

His probing and investigation alerted the Hunters, especially since he was actually coming close to realising things other humans had failed to notice before. They came to him, they observed him, and realised he was a man obsessed with finding out the truth. Their first notion was to get rid of him, for he was getting too close to knowing about the supernatural world, and it was part of their duties to make sure that humans knew nothing about the beings they coexisted with, the beings they all thought to be mere figments of imagination.

They stopped trying to get rid of him after they realised he had a photographic memory, and an intensive knowledge of self-defence – both of which were very useful in their line of work. After intercepting him right before he got to witness a vampire feasting on his victim, they took him aside and explained the world to him – explained everything he once thought to be stories, horror stories meant to frighten young children into going to sleep. He found it difficult to believe, despite accepting the possibility before that it was all far from old legends.

But he had no choice to believe, in the end, when they took him back to their headquarters and showed him everything – all the people, all the information, all the serial killers they had managed to capture. Well, the few killers they had managed to capture alive. After nearly being eaten by a werewolf in their headquarters, he forced himself to accept a new reality; after taking an oath to never reveal all this information to any outsider, he was allowed in.

That happened five years ago. Now, at the age of twenty-three, he was considered one of the better Hunters, especially since he still had all his limbs – and hadn't gotten himself killed – in the course of work. Well, not yet, so far…and he was hoping he would be able to keep that up. He sighed irritably, flicking some of his bright blond hair out of his eyes – he picked gingerly at the edge of his torn shirt. He hadn't been part of the team who captured this succubus, since at that time he was trying to retrieve an escaped sphinx. _Dammit, those claws really hurt. _He glanced at the deep scratch wounds on his arm. _But they'll heal._

Again, a memory of blood-stained blond hair and staring blue eyes – blue-black bruises and bloodless cheeks – filled his mind, and he gritted his teeth, looking away from the cage. One would think that after five years of working with supernaturals, he would have got over his sister's death – would have got over finding her lifeless and sprawling on the dusty floor. But no, given his blasted memory, he couldn't forget it – even if he hadn't had a photographic memory, he wouldn't have forgotten such a chilling, deathly sight. White on white on red…

He couldn't help feeling slightly prejudiced against supernaturals – _for they'll turn on you if they can, won't they? They want to survive, and for them to do that, almost all of them need to take something vital away from us _– and every time he was ordered to bring one of them in for questioning, he could barely keep himself in check – to keep in the urge to whip his gun out and shoot them all the way to bloody oblivion. Guns killed anything – supernaturals healed quickly, but few of them were truly immortal, or happened to be impervious to bullets.

He could restrain himself, he just found it hard to. He was usually sent out as a last resort – perhaps this was another reason why he was one of the few Hunters who had yet to lose any limbs. His gaze flicked over to the clock on the far wall – it was approaching his dinnertime. He ought to get this over with as soon as possible, then rush home for his meal – ever since they lost his sister, his parents had become ridiculously overprotective of him, demanding that he return home to have meals with them at least thrice a week.

He was an adult, but he didn't mind going home to reassure his parents that he was fine – he didn't think that cut too much into his personal space. What he did mind was how frantic his mother would become if he didn't return on time, calling him over and over again; worried that he was dead, just like his twin sister. It was rather annoying, because the main reason why he was late was usually that he had to work overtime. He couldn't exactly return his mother's calls when he was busy hunting down an escaped, blood-thirsty vampire.

His job paid well. His parents often wondered what he was working as, but he always evaded their questions. After all, he wasn't supposed to expose anyone to his world…to the real world. Hunters worked alone, within their organisation – _no other halves, no family members, nothing. No one can be allowed to find out about the reality they live in – that the monsters they see within horror movies are more than just the stuffs of our imagination. _He knew that. He hated that. But he couldn't defy this law, for to go against their oath of silence meant instant death. The Organisation was much like the Mafia, in more ways than one.

Ah, but he was thinking too much about his own life. He ought to be focused on the task at hand. Not that there was much to focus on; he just had to flip the curtain over, see a succubus for the first ever time, and place it through intensive questioning. It. Her. He felt strangely uncomfortable referring to a supernatural creature using a feminine pronoun – after all, it wasn't like a succubus was human. Why should he refer to something non-human as…a human? It made little sense to him. Most of the time, he could barely differentiate between male and female, for supernaturals – they all looked strangely androgynous to him.

He walked up to the cage, trying to block the images of dead people in his mind – not just his dead sister, but the bodies of any other person killed by supernaturals, before…he gritted his teeth. No. He had to be impartial here – this succubus hadn't killed anyone – _not yet, anyway _– and he ought not to let his past affect the way he dealt with her. She was brought in not for judgement, but rather because this was the first time they had encountered one of her kind. He shouldn't treat her too harshly, not the same way he would treat any other convict.

Grasping the edge of the velvet curtain, he flipped it up – instantly, he withdrew, as fingers immediately clawed out from between the bars, hair flying wildly everywhere – _is her hair really that shade of teal _– as the creature inside hissed at him, spitting and lashing out. Instantly, he thought of a wildcat, fierce and feral, confined to captivity. He stepped back, showing no fear in the face of her viciousness, regarding her with a calm eye. The svelte creature was clothed in a simple white cloth dress, though it was ragged and torn. Her skin, from what he could see, was pale and unblemished – he wondered how the others had captured her if they hadn't hit or fought with her. That wasn't possible, was it?

Yet, this creature bore no signs of having been in any fight…she hissed at him again, bringing his attention up to the upper half of her body – from her back, there sprouted two bat-like wings, small yet strangely elegant. Her long hair was a strange shade of green-blue, a hair colour he had never seen on any other supernatural before. His eyes drifted to her face, and he blinked. _She's a girl. How strange. It's the first time I've been able to tell…_

For usually, whenever he saw a non-human, he had difficulties telling its gender at first; vampires, werewolves, faeries…they looked like they could be either sex, to him. They were an androgynous lot, the supernaturals – yet, from one glance, he could tell that this creature was a female. The tiny, heart-shaped face, the large emerald eyes, framed by unnaturally long eyelashes – a petite nose, perfect lips the same shade as a cherry blossom – there was no way she could be anything other than a female. And she was a startlingly beautiful one, at that.

_So the legends about the beauty of succubi aren't a lie, I see. _He folded his arms and just stood there, staring expressionlessly at the flailing succubus; he knew that not reacting, not showing any fear, was the easiest way to tire them out. Sure enough, a few minutes later, her struggles ceased, and she collapsed back against the bars of the cage, those green eyes glaring balefully at him the whole time. He couldn't help smirking a little – they were all the same, in the end.

No matter how vicious and hostile they started out as at first, they eventually calmed down when they realised he wasn't scared of them…when they realised he wasn't anything like their average victim. He sighed, coming slightly closer to the cage – the girl bared her teeth at him, her eyes narrowing. Her teeth were white and perfect – everything about her was perfect, he realised dully. She would have passed for a normal, beautiful mortal girl…were it not for the tell-tale wings on her back. As well as that long, barbed tail, he noticed with trepidation.

That tail was lashing back and forth in obvious agitation. He was surprised he hadn't noticed it earlier – then again, it was easy to overlook such details when said subject was busy trying to claw his eyes out. "Can you speak?" he asked, wondering what the answer would be. Most of the time, they could, and he had long gotten used to supernaturals being able to speak in any tongue they wanted – in fact, he would be more surprised if she couldn't understand him, rather than the other way round. Her green eyes flashed with obvious hostility.

"What do you think I am, stupid?" she retorted, venom lacing her every word. Her voice didn't match its tone – like her face, her voice was soft and ethereal, delicate and frail. It was also ridiculously high-pitched – the voice of a child. It wasn't a voice he would expect to foreshadow danger; it was a voice as far removed from viciousness as it was possible to be.

"What's your name?" he asked, more out of necessity than for being polite. She bit her lip – her incisors were rather pointed, reminding him of a vampire – and glared some more at him. He sighed. Of course, she wouldn't be easy to talk to. Then again, they had never been easy to deal with. There was only so much longer he could pretend to be nice, before he started with the death threats and hostile glares, et cetera et cetera. "I suggest that you just tell me what it is before I pry it out of you," he smiled sweetly at her. _I just want to go home now._

"You can try," she answered, her voice just as sweet as his. Then, in a single second, her smile twisted downwards into a malicious grimace – a frown that looked ridiculously out of place on her angelic face. "You come within lunging range of me, human, and I will kill you," those words were said icily, her vicious demeanour turning cold and bitterly harsh.

"I am trying to be nice to you," he growled, not sounding nice at all. "My name is Len Kagamine," he added, tilting his head, studying her reaction – she just sniffed and tossed her head, her teal hair falling over her shoulder. Her hair was extremely long, pooling on the floor of the cage. Or perhaps it was just because she was so tiny. He felt that this…creature wouldn't even reach his shoulders, should she stand next to him. She was so…petite.

"I didn't ask you for your name," she said scathingly. His eyebrows twitched – she had a point, but she was bringing unnecessary hardship to his life. It wasn't like he led a very blessed existence – it was difficult enough, being stuck in this job, leading what was basically a double life – and this little brat, this…whatever she was, was just making his life harder.

She was beautiful, he granted her that, but that didn't give her the permission to mess around with him. _She has no idea where she is, or what situation she has gotten into. _"Listen to me, succubus," he hissed, noting the subtle widening of her green eyes when he addressed her by her species, "I am tired, I am hungry, I want to go home and take a break. If it weren't for the fact that my superior is on leave today, I wouldn't even have to deal with a blasted brat like you. Yes, I know what you are; wipe that shocked look off your face. I have a gun, there are plenty of succubi out there, and I won't hesitate to rid the world of one. Understand me?"

Slowly, mutinously, she nodded. Her tail continued whipping around, faster than before – he wondered if that meant she was getting more agitated. "My name is Miku Hatsune," she grudgingly offered, "and if there is nothing else you want to know, I'd appreciate being let out of this cage. I am not an animal," she said disdainfully, her pink lips curving downwards.

He was thankful that she had calmed down some, but he was still suspicious enough to stay away from her. He shook his head, letting his fingers drift to his hips, to where his gun was in its holster. "Trust me," he said, his voice honeyed, "the cage is for your protection. Not mine," he glanced up at the clock again. He was running late. His mother would never let him hear the end of it – better to continue this charade of civility on another day, then.

Miku Hatsune was, to put it frankly, pissed off. All she had been doing today, before she got captured by a bunch of goons and was knocked out by some sweet-smelling gas, was taking in her daily share of energy…well, anyway, she was just strolling around innocently in her _glamour_ – the magic that all supernatural creatures had, to mask their different characteristics from the humans – when suddenly, she was kidnapped by a group of strange humans. The next thing she knew, she was waking up in a cage, her view of outside obscured by a thick, heavy curtain…and now, she was being interrogated by this blond-haired jerk.

He was handsome, for a human. Taller than her – but that was to be expected, she was a good deal shorter than most humans – and with sharp, chiselled features, he was the perfect example of classical Grecian beauty. Blond-haired, blue-eyed, angular face, high cheekbones – and a rather lean body, if her expert eye was anything worth believing; but what was the use of all that if the man behind the looks was so…terribly rude? He was annoying her.

His skin was as pale as hers, and that was saying something, since she was born fair-skinned and rarely stepped out into the sun. His blond hair reminded her of the sun. She missed the sun a great deal, missed the warmth of its rays – she rarely went into the sun since it was bad for her and her kind. The succubi and incubi, who were demons borne of Hell – they were not exposed to sunlight in Hell, and whenever they went up to the surface world, the warmth of the sun aggravated their sensitive skin. Their kind got sunburnt extremely easily.

_Arrogant bastard_...she gritted her teeth, annoyed beyond belief. Why was he so cocky? The way he stood away from the cage, that light smirk gracing his face – a little part of her made her notice that the smirk just made this handsome man look all the more desirable – and taunted her, practically _wanting _her to screech loudly, to vent all her frustrations upon him. She hated him – she hated how attractive he was, for succubi and incubi could never stop focusing upon the attractive points of people, no matter how infuriating those people were.

Right now, the part of her that craved sustenance, the part of her which controlled her feral succubus side, wanted him to enter this cage right now, so that she could drain him of all that youthful energy – all the pent-up sexual frustration she could sense, simmering under that deceptively calm surface. This was clearly a man who spent more time on his career than on his personal life – she could tell that he hadn't had good sex in ages, she could sense it.

Succubi were sexual creatures, and she was no different, though she was one of the younger succubi on the surface – she was barely a century old. Due to her youth, there was a tendency for the others to mollycoddle her, to try and keep her safe. She had wanted to be released from the suffocating protection the others offered her, so she sneaked out for a while – and now, she was stuck here. Maybe there was some truth in what the others said – maybe she shouldn't have gone up to the surface, since she still was inexperienced and young…

She wasn't even sure how to use all of her demonic powers yet. Her sister was still in the midst of teaching her, and Miku was, to be honest, not the most attentive of students. She wrapped her arms around herself, her tail curling around her knees – she wanted to go home. She missed her sister. Her gaze drifted across to the blond male – he was looking up at the clock, his attention clearly having been diverted for a while. Instantly, a thought came to her, and a slow smirk curved her lips. _This might actually work…and no one will get hurt!_

Despite her threats earlier, that she would kill him if he came anywhere near her, she would never really do so. She hated to kill – she did so only as a last resort, when she truly had exhausted all other means of escape. Her eyes focused upon his gun, strapped to his hip – in one swift, precise movement, her tail whipped out, curling around the black object, bringing it back to the cage. The male – Len Kagamine was his name, if she recalled correctly – immediately jerked out of his daze, noticing that something was amiss only after her tail withdrew. She smiled – humans clearly didn't know enough about the succubi and incubi. Their tails could extend to more than half their body length – it was like a third arm.

His gaze whipped across to her, narrowing slightly. She smiled sweetly, holding the gun in her grip – she hoped she looked threatening, for she had no idea how to hold a gun, really. "You're not supposed to hold it by the barrel," he said flatly, his eyes trained on the small black gun. Her face fell for a second, but she adjusted her grip, holding it by the other half. She was sure that this push-able black bit was…what was it called? A trigger, wasn't it?

"If you want it back," she grinned, "you'll have to let me out of this cage first," he tilted his head, appearing to consider her offer, before his lips tilted into a smirk and he shook his head. She glared at him – why, did he doubt her ability to fire at him? "Don't think I don't dare to pull the…trigger," she hissed at him. She just wanted to go home. Why wouldn't he let her out? She had never done anything bad before – the few people she had killed before was out of necessity. It was a fight-or-flight situation – obviously, she valued her life more.

"I used up my last bullet earlier," was the soft, knowing answer, causing her to stiffen. "Trust me; even if you pulled that trigger, nothing will happen. If you doubt me, point the gun at me now, and pull the trigger. I won't move," he folded his arms, leaning back against the wall. His cerulean eyes challenged her, and she knew that he spoke the truth – for there was no way he would be so confident otherwise. Regardless, she tried to pull the trigger – no bullets shot out, and all she heard was a soft clicking sound. His smirk widened in satisfaction.

Frustrated, she dropped the gun, letting her tail slide out past the bars, stopping short of touching him – she hadn't wanted to do this earlier, the less these humans knew about her species, the better – but it appeared that now, she would have to use other methods to get out of this cage. He stared at the barbed tip of the tail – her tail which was sharp enough to tear into skin. "I don't need your gun," she said simply, her fingers curling around the metal bars, "I can kill you where I stand, right now. And I'm sure you know it. Let me out of here."

His blue eyes were considering. She wondered what he was thinking about – didn't he want to live? Didn't he fear her at all? Suddenly, he smiled – a genuine smile, not a smirk, and that unnerved her more than anything else ever could. She knew that he was dangerous – she knew from the way he stared at her, the way murder was hidden deep in those eyes – like he had some personal vendetta against her. But they had never met before, so he couldn't hate specifically her…she had to wonder what happened to him, what made him become this way.

"You're a tricky one," he said affably, but the geniality with which he spoke couldn't mask the frigidness of his gaze – the cold need for revenge she could see, nestling deep within his blue eyes. Succubi were naturally skilled at sensing someone's innermost emotions – they could tell what needs, what wants a person possessed, needs that even the person himself might not know of. Something drove this man towards hatred and anger – impatience was masked in his gaze. The intensity of the emotions he felt…they made her shiver.

Slowly, she let her barbed tail withdraw, and he approached her cage, a set of keys dangling from his fingers. Carefully, tauntingly, he slid the keys into the lock, turning them – there was a soft 'click', and the cage door swung open. Elated, she tried to step out of the cage – but he didn't move aside, and she was forced to stop right before him. She growled at him, getting more than just a little annoyed. "You know, I have nothing to fear from you," he smiled in response to her growl, blond hair glimmering under the harsh lights of the room. "Because I can tell that you won't want to kill me. You don't have the…feel of a murderer."

"How would you know what a murderer _feels _like?" she replied, her tone disdainful. "You know nothing about me – who is to say that your judgement is accurate? I can rip you to shreds without a single thought," as she spoke, she tried to move forward, out of the cage. He refused to step aside, instead mirroring her action, backing her further back into the cage. She wanted to scream in frustration. The entrance was too narrow for her to dodge past him, and he was much taller than her – it was natural for her to take a step back when he approached.

"You can," he agreed, much to her surprise – she had assumed that he would do his best to go against her. His blue eyes glinted knowingly; it made him look even more handsome than he already did, and that aggravated her. Curse her stupid succubus sensitivity to good looks. It made her feel like a simpering maiden, willing to forgive someone for his wrongs just because of how handsome he was. She was not supposed to be influenced by his looks or to even notice the perfection of his features – _he _was supposed to be susceptible to her beauty!

Maybe she noticed solely because he didn't…"But you won't," he finished his sentence, taking yet another step – she realised she was back in the cage, unable to move any further backwards. Her wings spread out slightly, pressed against the bars of the cage – she winced, they were delicate things, her wings, and being so close to the bars was uncomfortable for them. She actually wondered why she had wings, since they were too small for her to fly with. Her mother told her that once, in the past, succubi and incubi could fly – now, no longer.

Perhaps a curse was the cause of it all, the reason why they could no longer fly – she didn't know, nor did she really care, since she had never been really interested in flight. Her wings curled outwards slightly, subtly trying to block him from encroaching too much on her personal space. "You're too close," she said bluntly, unsure about human etiquette in this situation, so just using that of her own kind – when one succubus came too close to another, they usually just shoved each other out of the way. Demons were not a gentle race.

"I know," his reply was soft and husky. "If I was too far, you'd run away, wouldn't you?" those blue eyes pierced her, making her feel like she couldn't breathe. There was a quick flash of perfectly straight, white teeth as he smiled at her, a tauntingly knowing smile. Her irritation with him increasing, she tried to shove past him – he grabbed her wrist, and her eyes widened. He had a grip like iron – she tried to yank her hand away, to no avail. _Dammit. _She wasn't much stronger than an average human girl – it came with her youth and inexperience. When she was older, she would be stronger – for now, she was stuck like this.

Len studied her intently, wondering what she saw in him. He couldn't help noticing that she was almost unbearably attractive, when she wasn't snapping at him – he couldn't help paying attention to the delicacy of her features, and he wondered how someone who was so…vicious could look so fragile. Her wrist in his grasp was feather-light, like it would break if he squeezed too hard. Bird-like, that was the word – the wings on her back accentuated that image, even though those wings were more bat than bird. Her lips were set into a stubborn scowl, and she glared up at him, those emerald eyes filled with a vindictive light.

He wondered how hard he would have to push before she started to struggle against him, really struggle. _Succubi…I wonder what makes them so formidable. She hasn't done anything to unnerve me yet…_succubi were known for the way they drained men of their vitality. They seduced men, sucking their energy right out of their bodies – but was that the truth? All that was only what folklore said about succubi – they didn't know whether or not succubi really did such a thing. There was no way to tell, unless someone tried it for themselves…but who would do such a thing? He certainly wasn't stupid enough to attempt that.

Her eyes flashed red for a moment, as he observed her. It startled him, but he didn't let go – he had seen red eyes before, and it didn't scare him. "Let go of me!" she hissed, her wings flapping agitatedly, causing his shirt to flutter in the resulting breeze. He tightened his grip on her wrist just to further spite her, and she bared her teeth – her fangs – at him, her fingers clenching and unclenching. Suddenly, she lunged forward, and he closed his eyes, preparing for some sort of violent impact, certain he could handle anything she threw at him–

And she kissed him. His eyes widened, his grip on her wrist slackening slightly – her free hand looped around his neck, her fingers tangling in his hair, not letting him back away. He couldn't prevent his eyelids from lowering as she kissed him – _it feels good…_why was he getting tired? Fingers sliding down his arms – he must have let go of her wrist – tracing patterns on his bare skin, landing teasingly on his shoulders, her fingers raking through his hair – and all the while, she kissed aggressively, not giving him even a single chance to fight back. He didn't know how to react; he could barely keep himself awake, as it was.

She pulled away from him – by then, he was tired enough for her to just push him out of the way, letting her walk out past him. He slumped back down against the cage bars, sudden exhaustion settling over him like a suffocating blanket. The succubus walked out of the cage, turning to face him, running her tongue against her lips. "I feel so much better now," she sighed, shooting him a mischievous wink. "Thank you for the help, I'll repay you some day!"

_Her draining powers…_she blew him a kiss, as his eyes threatened to close. "Don't worry," she cooed, her voice seeming to echo to him from some distant place, "I'm sure we'll meet again, Len Kagamine. You're a very hard man to forget," she smiled playfully at him.

That playful smile was the last thing he saw before he finally blacked out.

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_**Solitaryloner: **__The first one-shot is done! I'll probably come up with another story in two or three more days. Seriously, the speed at which I update depends on how many reviews I get – the more you guys review, the faster I'll write. I feel kind of bad for doing this, but I really want reviews – this is the first time I'm aiming for 1000 reviews (if I can even make it past 300 first) and I want to start building the review count up early, you know?_


	2. Chapter 2

_**Solitaryloner: **__This is the second story in this drabble…thing series. You might understand this story a little better if you have read 'Unwilling Dancer' first, since they're both set in the same world – this story takes place a few months before the events of Unwilling Dancer. However, do take note that this can be read as a standalone as well. Enjoy. Rating: T._

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Story Two – Control.

Maybe he was a little too controlling, or maybe he was just too possessive of what couldn't belong to him. He couldn't be sure…was there a difference, really, between control and jealousy? Or were they just the same things, under different names?

They were all at a party. Well, specifically, they were at the party of a mutual friend…Kaito Shion, whose large mansion was a favourite spot to host gatherings of any kind at. His gaze drifted to the side of the room – there stood his least favourite girl, her arms folded across her chest, sulking in everyone's direction. As he stared at her, her green eyes flicked up, her gaze meeting his; for an instant, their stares connected, and he couldn't look away. Her lip curled, and she glanced away from him, a look of disdain flitting quickly across her face.

He rolled his eyes, pretending that her dismissal didn't sting in the slightest, returning his gaze to the sushi roll he held in his hand. Absent-mindedly, he opened his mouth, popping the whole roll inside – he was so tired of having to put up with her crap. Seriously, why couldn't she just understand that everything he was doing was for her own good? If she kept ignoring him, if she continued going out every night and mingling around with the bad company he suspected she kept…well, it wouldn't be long before Mikuo had to start bailing her out of jail.

So perhaps he was exaggerating, and her friends weren't _that _bad…a blond haired boy went over to her, slinging his arm around her shoulders. Her boyfriend, Nero Akita – he couldn't prevent the twinge of hurt that flickered through him, at that. He ignored the twinge; _there's no point in hurting over a girl who couldn't care less about whether you lived or died…_he turned his body away from the couple, deciding to find something to distract himself with.

"Len!" he jumped, startled by the shout. He spun quickly, in the direction of the voice – there stood Mikuo, the teal haired boy waving frantically from the other side of the room. _Oh, a distraction…_not that it was a good distraction, since Mikuo looked so much like his sister. He shrugged, weaving his way through the heap of moving bodies, towards his best friend – Mikuo reached out, grabbing Len by his collar, hauling him out from the crowd of people.

"I…can't…breathe!" Len spluttered, clutching at his collar. Mikuo let go, and Len collapsed next to him, his back against the cool wall – for once, he didn't feel like mingling with the crowd. He was usually the centre of attention, the one everyone wanted to be around; but for now, he just wanted to lay low, and hope that no one would pay him too much attention in the midst of this crowd. He had been in Kaito's house since this morning, since he hadn't had anything better to do – when guests started pouring in, he went to hide in the upstairs rooms.

The blond boy only bothered to come down when Kaito assured him that most of the people there were intoxicated, and that they wouldn't be able to recognise him for who he was. So far, that appeared to be true – no one had started crowding him, suffocating him, trying to talk to him and such. Well, not yet, anyway. He really hoped this situation wouldn't change.

"You know, I think that Miku should seriously break up with Nero," Mikuo mused, playing with the edge of his shirt sleeves. Len instantly glanced up, surprise and a little bit of glee flickering through him. _Why does he say that? Does he disapprove of Nero…? _He looked back in the direction of the mentioned couple – there the two of them were, talking quietly and intensely; he watched as Nero leant down to kiss her quickly. Len didn't know whether to be unhappy that Nero did such a thing, or whether he ought to rejoice that…_she_ didn't respond in any way to the kiss, standing as still and inanimate as a statue.

"Why do you say such a thing?" he asked, eyes widening as a thought occurred to him – _does Mikuo know about my feelings for…? _No. That couldn't be possible! He had managed to hide how he truly felt for Mikuo's sister…had hidden his emotions for so long that it was almost second nature to him now. Mikuo cast him a long look, making Len fidget a little – that intense, penetrating look was something he was more used to seeing on his sister. Mikuo was not intense. Mikuo was carefree and high-spirited. Unless it came to his sister; Mikuo could be rather protective of his sister at times, while at other times, he could scarcely be bothered with her. _If only I knew…if only I dared to tell Mikuo about how I feel for his sister._

But Len knew he would never have the courage to confess such a thing, not when the person he desired detested him so much – he still didn't know why – and _especially not _when she was, well, his best friend's sister. How would Mikuo even react to the news that Len…lusted after her? He doubted Mikuo would take it particularly well. "She doesn't even like him," was the blunt reply, as the teal haired boy continued staring at the young couple. "She has her usual, 'I'm putting up with your crap because I have no fucking choice' look again."

_Now that Mikuo points that out…_Len supposed that was true. He exhaled a little in relief – at least Mikuo didn't appear to suspect Len's feelings for her – and shrugged, forcing disinterest to flit across his face. _I need to continue pretending that she's nothing to me, that she's no more than an irritating thorn in my side. Otherwise, he might begin to think…_ "It doesn't matter to me. Who she wants to go out with is none of my business." Well, technically it was none of his business. _But I do want to care, even if I can't show that I really do…even if I want to worry, I have to do so in the shoes of an elder brother, and not as a potential boyfriend. Because I am not supposed to see her that way…as a girlfriend, I mean._

Whatever. He was tired of thinking so much, anyway. It was hard enough to concentrate on not being recognised – he was wearing a cap that covered half of his face, his bright blond hair darkened in the dim lights of the room. He was wearing shades to cover his distinctive blue eyes; the only reason Mikuo and his sister even knew that it was him was because they knew him so well. He really didn't think he could handle being mobbed by a bunch of people, anyway – there were some days where he lapped up the attention, and other days where the very thought of interaction made him cringe. This appeared to be one of the latter days.

Mikuo appeared to understand – being fairly well-liked himself, it came as no surprise that the teal haired boy knew of the pleasures of keeping to his own company. Fame was not a blessing – a curse, more like. And he said that because he actually knew how it felt. People always wanted to be popular until they actually hit the very pinnacle of popularity – then either they wore themselves out, staying at the top, or they plummeted back to rock bottom. Honestly, Len didn't give a damn about the social labyrinth he had to navigate every single day, but he did wish that popularity would enable him to have _one _day of peace, for once.

"Why don't you go back to the upper rooms? I'll bring up some food for you," Mikuo offered, casting the food tables a longing glance. Len's lips twitched slightly in amusement, but in the end he decided that was a good idea – he really couldn't stand being in this loud atmosphere any longer. The only reason why he even bothered to stay was because Kaito was one of his good friends. If it was anyone else, Len probably would have gone home a long time ago.

_Or maybe you're just staying around because she's here…_against his will, his gaze flickered back to Mikuo's sister. _Miku Hatsune…_they had moved from their spot in the middle of the room. Instantly, Len panicked, searching around for her, not caring about whether or not Mikuo would find his behaviour weird – when he next saw her, he didn't know how to react.

The happy couple was standing only a little distance away from him and Mikuo now, their bodies pressed up against the wall. He could only recognise them because of _her _distinct teal hair, so like her brother's – it cascaded down her shoulders, wound around Nero's fingers as he fisted those silky locks, their lips locked together almost frenziedly. Her arms were looped around his neck, his hand next to her head, against the wall. Len swallowed, strangely transfixed by the scene – he and Nero had similar shades of blond hair, and there wasn't very much difference between their heights; it was easy for him to imagine that, instead of Nero, _he _was standing there. Their lips melding, his fingers trailing across her face, touching and caressing…her, gasping out _his _name, her hands searching and roaming –

He exhaled, swallowing, cutting off his train of thought. _No. _He really ought not to be thinking that way… "I think I need to get some rest," he muttered, pulling his cap further down over his face. He angled his body away from the two in the corner, desperately trying to think of anything but _that _– anything but what they were doing. "I have a headache," he added, though that was somewhat unnecessary – Mikuo had evidently noticed his sister making out with Nero, and a faint scowl flitted across his lips as he stared at them. Honestly, given the intensity with which Mikuo was glaring, Len felt that he could start doing cartwheels there and then, whilst yelling at the top of his lungs, and Mikuo still wouldn't pay him any attention. So, exhaling again, he just turned away from his friend, walking away.

He really never would have thought that Mikuo disapproved of Nero. Then again, Nero Akita was known to be quite the delinquent – Len lost track of how many times he heard the principal making announcements over the school speakers, telling Nero Akita to come to his office to be reprimanded for one offence or some other. He didn't approve of Miku being with Nero, either. Like she would be safe with a gangster like him…Len realised that his fingers were clenched into fists, and abruptly, he forced himself to relax. _At least he hasn't done anything that Miku didn't want him to do, so far. _He found that the thought strangely haunted him, making him wonder – just how far had the two of them gone?

What kind of things had Miku done before, with all the boys she was known to date? She went through guys like they were air; to her, they were hardly more than playthings, mere entities to distract her and let her while her time away. Len couldn't be sure whether she was a flirt, or whether she was…searching for something. He had known Miku since she was a young girl, and he _knew _what kind of person she was, what kind of morals she had – she was rebellious and disdainful towards him now, but she would never betray her body for anything. He was confident about that; nevertheless, he couldn't help feeling a little paranoid.

He didn't want anyone to ever touch her. She was not his, but she was pure and incorrupt, and he was not going to let anyone sully or taint her in any way. Even if not as a lover, as an older brother, he owed her that much – Mikuo would expect that of him, and no more. Len blinked, realising that he had climbed up the stairs, all the way to the upper landing already. He hadn't noticed himself walking across the crowded room downstairs, holding on to the banisters, hauling himself up the staircase, as immersed in his thoughts as he was. He shook his head, his gaze flickering across the landing – it was seemingly deserted. He smiled.

It was like a whole new world in here, seemingly removed from the wild gathering occurring downstairs. Kaito was, naturally, as wealthy as any other pampered son of a business mogul could be, and that wealth reflected itself in the décor here. The rich wallpaper, the thick, velvet carpet, the ornate lamps that lined the corridor – the whole place reeked of money, and to be honest, he wasn't sure whether or not he'd enjoy living in some place like this. Certainly, the money would be a large incentive…but the formality of it all set him on edge; he couldn't imagine having to attend all the major functions Kaito was expected to show up at, as required of the firstborn son of the immensely wealthy Shion family.

No one was here yet – hopefully, he knew that as the night progressed, more couples would start to seek refuge in the upper rooms – and he hoped he wouldn't be disturbed by anyone for the next hour, at least. _Honestly, why don't I just go home already…_but he didn't want to leave. He didn't wish to participate in the ruckus downstairs, but he didn't want to leave either, and he wasn't entirely sure why. _It can't be because she's here…could it? _He set the question aside, not wanting to further encourage his already unhealthy obsession with her.

He opened one of the doors – it led to the same room as the one he had been hiding in, earlier – and glanced around. There was no one around, and he heaved a sigh of relief. He didn't know what he would do if someone else had been in this room – he really didn't want people to realise that he had come to Kaito's party, especially not after he painstakingly replied to all the texts he had received, saying he wasn't in the mood for a party tonight. He turned to the door, closing it gently behind him; he wondered whether he ought to lock the door – in the end, he didn't even have to decide, since the room didn't have a lock to begin with.

It was just a knob in the smooth, polished wood. He huffed, staring disbelievingly at the door – _the Shion family is so rich, yet their doors don't even have locks _– then turned to the bed. He closed his eyes, feeling his head throb a little – he really wasn't in a sociable mood tonight, and he supposed that this anti-social behaviour was now manifesting itself in the form of a terrible headache. Taking the cap off, he flung it onto a nearby table, collapsing tiredly onto the bed. It was so soft and warm…he lay down, nestling his head into the pillows.

His fingers fisting in the blankets, he decided to take a nap…surely an one hour nap couldn't do any harm. No one would miss him, anyway. And he knew Kaito wouldn't mind…his thoughts trickled to a stop, and without even noticing it, Len fell asleep.

* * *

_I drank too much…_Miku groaned as she clambered up the stairs, her head spinning. She could barely keep her balance. _What's the time? _It was definitely long past midnight by now – most of the people around were collapsed upon the floor or on the couches, some of them sprawled on the stairs. She was one of the remaining few who were still conscious – though, judging by her state of mind presently, she wouldn't stay that way for much longer.

Nero was unconscious on the floor. She took great care in stepping over him, not wanting to wake him from his alcohol-induced slumber. She hardly wanted to sleep so unglamorously on the floor like that – no, she would only allow herself to pass out upon a proper bed. And that meant she would have to go up to the first floor landing. She groaned softly, one of her hands fluttering up to her forehead – this feeling of giddiness, of light-headedness…she was so used to it, yet she was not. She glanced across the room; Mikuo was still standing, just like her, staring absently out of the window. At that moment, he turned, catching her gaze.

She swallowed. Mikuo had been eyeing her strangely the whole night. His green eyes, which were just like hers, narrowed slightly – then, without any other sign of acknowledgement, he turned away back to the window. She took that as approval to go upstairs, and continue with whatever it was she intended to do – in a corner of her mind, she was rather stunned that Mikuo hadn't passed out from the late hour and from the amount of beer he must have drunk by now – and went on her way. She miraculously managed to totter her way up the staircase, and when she finally reached the next landing, she clutched at the banisters, too tired to even think. There were people up here too, snoring and sleeping away. She grimaced.

Delicately, she stepped over the slumbering bodies, making her way over to the first door she saw. Carefully, she opened the door – instantly, she closed it, retching slightly. Inside laid a couple, writhing together on the bed, their hands up each other's shirts; it wasn't exactly a sight she wanted to see. She decided to be more careful with entering the rooms next time, and turned to seek out other, more viable opportunities. Most of the doors she opened led to occupied rooms, however, and she started to despair of ever finding a bed to stay in for the night. Eventually, there was only one door left, all the way at the end of the corridor.

She made her way woozily over to it, praying that the room was unused – she really didn't want to climb up the stairs again, and anyway she was fairly sure that the second floor landing was reserved for the members of the Shion family – reaching the door, she twisted the doorknob, letting herself in. Immediately, she closed her eyes, not wishing to view a repeat of what she had seen earlier – no sound came to her ears, and cautiously, she opened her eyes. The room was seemingly unoccupied. Relieved, she smiled, then winced as the slight movement hurt her head. _This is great – I can finally take a break from all this…_

She shook her head woozily, rubbing absent-mindedly at her bare upper arm. Her eyes registered that someone else was sleeping in the bed, someone with light blond hair and long, delicate fingers – but her mind, disoriented by alcohol, decided that she didn't care. _Whoever he is, he's asleep…he probably won't wake up till tomorrow, and I'll be gone after a short nap. He won't suspect a single thing. _Assured, she sat carefully on the edge of the bed, swinging herself onto the mattress – she realised she was lying close to this stranger, but again felt that she didn't care. She was too exhausted from the alcohol, from the party, from the events of the whole night – she didn't care about anything other than some well-deserved sleep.

Her eyelids fluttered shut. And after that, she just stopped caring at all.

* * *

Len's eyes snapped open as he felt the bed sinking slightly. It was as though someone had just sat on the bed. He had always been a light sleeper, easily roused from his slumber, and annoyed, he turned to chase the unwelcome intruder away from his bed –

He blinked, coming face-to-face with long teal hair and perfect, full pink lips, puckered slightly as though she was waiting for someone to kiss her…instantly, he scrambled away from her. His heart was racing as he recognised who it was. Who _she _was. _Why is she on the bed with me…_his fingers reached out, hovering near the skin of her cheek. He managed to stop himself from actually reaching out to touch her. He could feel her breath, washing lightly over his skin; he didn't want to know if he was dreaming or not. Was he?

"Miku…" he whispered her name, whispered lightly and softly. Testing her name, just to see if she would react – just to see if it was really her. "You must have drunk a lot," he laughed quietly, "to pass out so trustingly in my presence. It doesn't help that you've never been able to hold your drink well," he mused to himself, a small smile hovering on the edge of his lips. _She's so pretty, even while unconscious like this…_her teal hair was sprawled all over the pillows, her fingers clenched into fists. Gently, he prised those fingers apart, making her relax in her slumber – unlike him, she was a heavy sleeper, and she didn't stir in the slightest.

_She must have been half-asleep when she climbed up here; there's no way anyone would have passed out so quickly, otherwise. _Len, unable to help himself, reached out to her – his thumb traced circles across her cheek, his touch as gentle and soft as a dove's feather. A slight brush, barely there, barely noticeable, leaving behind not a single trace. "Now, I know I really shouldn't be doing this," he murmured, seemingly to her, but more to himself. "But you make things so difficult…especially when you lie next to me this way," he tilted his head, rubbing the sleepiness out of his eyes. How long had he been asleep for? It must have been for a while, if people were starting to make their way up to the first floor landing…

He knew that, if Miku were awake, she wouldn't be anywhere near him – she would rail at him, curse at him, hate him for his very existence – but she wasn't awake now, and when she wasn't the wild spitfire he was used to, when he actually had an opportunity to get closer to her…he swallowed. _She is so damn adorable when she sleeps. _He stroked her hair away from her eyes, quite forgetting that he wasn't supposed to treat her this way – forgetting that he could be no more than a big brother to her, and brothers wouldn't do this sort of thing to their little sister. "I actually wonder whether you're truly asleep, or whether you're pretending to be asleep, wondering how far I'll go before your tolerance finally snaps." Len had always been a sucker for punishment; if he wasn't, he wouldn't have fallen for someone like her.

Any girl in the world. Any girl he wanted – and he yearned for _her, _craved someone he so desperately needed that he drove himself insane at times. And she despised him. Perhaps, in a way, that constant rejection and spite was why he couldn't stop himself from wanting her – if he got someone that easily, then where was the challenge? People couldn't help hankering after a challenge; it was in human nature to be dissatisfied, if things kept going smoothly all the time. In a way, people themselves were contradictory – they all said that they wished their lives would be a little easier, yet when things went their way, they got bored quickly…

He realised his fingers were still against her cheek, and quickly, he jerked his hand away, an unwelcome blush spreading over his face. He shook his head sharply, not quite willing to face his obsession with her – though he long knew that he longed for her so much, it was actually quite unhealthy – and rocked back onto his side of the bed. _No. Don't think about this side or that side – she isn't even supposed to be here, she just walked into this room and fell dead asleep on the bed _– he was so hopeless. _Mikuo would kill me if he knew._

Speaking of which, where was Mikuo? Was he still around, or had the idiot went off with some hot chick again? Len didn't exactly approve of Mikuo's fast lifestyle – the teal haired boy had regular hook-ups and one-night-stands, and it wasn't exactly a very good example to set for his little sister. Sure, Len couldn't claim to be a saint – if he were, he wouldn't be at this party in the first place – but he sure as hell didn't get himself laid just because a hot girl happened to be batting her eyelashes at him. He wondered, briefly, if Mikuo's deviant behaviour happened to influence Miku in any way…Len did try to be a good elder brother figure for her, but not because he wanted to – because her real brother wasn't of much help.

He prepared to get out of the bed, but before he did, he couldn't help turning around to glance at the slumbering girl in the bed – she looked so harmless, yet there was a frown on her face that robbed her of the image of tranquillity that she might have possessed. Slowly, almost hesitantly, Len leant down to her; hovering undecidedly above her, he gnawed nervously on his lower lip. Finally, he gave in to temptation and kissed her quickly, a kiss that passed by so quickly that it could scarcely be considered any more than a fleeting brush, a hurried contact.

Before he could let himself do anything more, before he could start berating himself about what a huge idiot he was, Len got out of the bed and treaded quickly, but carefully, to the door. He opened it, glancing back briefly to study her once more – she had not moved at all, peacefully oblivious to what he had just done – and, heaving a sigh of relief, Len slipped out of the room, closing the door quietly behind him. _Well, at least she won't know I was there. It's not like I really did anything bad to her. _He tried to argue with his conscience, which kept picking on him, making him feel guilty – _you shouldn't have done that, you know she hates you. _He knew. He hated that. It sucked, but how was he supposed to resist when she was so close to him…how was he supposed to resist when his feelings demanded otherwise of him?

"I should go and find Mikuo; maybe I can borrow his car…" Len mused aloud to himself. He knew his sister, Rin, would have gone home by now, and no doubt she would have taken the car. He sincerely doubted that Mikuo would leave before Kaito chased all of them away, so maybe he could borrow Mikuo's car first…provided the idiot was still hanging around. It was entirely possible that Mikuo had driven off into the night, with some new girl hanging off his arm. After all, Mikuo trusted Len to bring his sister home safely, since Len was not a lecher nor did he appear to have any kind of design upon his baby sister…Len gritted his teeth.

_I have to stop thinking about that…she's becoming a borderline obsession. _To be honest, it already was an obsession, but he didn't want to say so. As he went down the stairs, muttering to himself, he failed to notice that just now, he had left one thing behind in the room…

* * *

Miku groaned, slowly regaining consciousness. Her head was pounding, and she felt like utter crap. _Water. I need water. _Her throat was dry – no, it was parched – and if she didn't have some water soon, she felt like she would die of dehydration. She swallowed. It hurt. Slowly, agonisingly, she got up from the bed, preparing to rise. As she did that, her head swayed, and she lost her balance – with an undignified grunt, she collapsed back on the bed.

_That's it, I'm never going to participate in a drinking game again…_not even if Nero begged. Her limbs sore and aching, she reached up to cover her eyes with her hand – her arm brushed against something, and she glanced to her right. She blinked, a slow, laborious process – _is that…a cap? _She peered at it, curious – yes, it was a cap. A black cap with red trimmings, the red converging in the centre to form the anarchy symbol…her eyes widened. It was a very familiar cap – designer, in fact – and if her memory did not fail her, she knew whose it was.

Instantly, her lips curled into a grimace. _Why is his cap here? Ugh. _She reached out for the cap, picking it up gingerly by the tip – bringing it closer to her, she inspected it more critically. Yes, there was no mistake – this happened to be the cap of one Len Kagamine. She could recognise this cap – it was one of his favourites, and he would lose his mind when he realised it wasn't with him. Her grimace deepened – to be honest, she didn't care about the emotional turmoil he would experience when he realised it was missing, perhaps he was already frantic about his missing cap right now – what she was more concerned about was, what on earth was his cap doing here, right next to where she had been sleeping mere moments ago?

She winced as her head throbbed again. No, it was too early for her to be asking questions. She needed water…her fingers tightened around the cap as she looked suspiciously at it. Bringing it even closer, she took a sniff – it smelled like him. She could smell the salty tang of the ocean and whiffs of the beach…something that reminded her of balmy summer days and happiness and frolicking. It was Len's scent, and she found that it was strangely pleasant. She frowned, questioning why, but in the end she decided that it didn't matter.

She also realised that she was actually still immensely tired, and that she didn't want to deal with anything of this sort right now. _Maybe I can sleep for a while longer…just a little while…I'll wait for Mikuo to find me, if he even happens to be around…_with that, she sank peacefully back into the bed, holding the cap close to her chest. A tiny smile hovered on the edge of her lips, not that she noticed. _I might hate him, but I can't deny that he smells good. Maybe at the end of all this, I can use this to blackmail him in some way. Who knows?_

Meanwhile, a very agitated Len was searching frantically for a cap that refused to be found.

* * *

_**Solitaryloner: **__I admit that I got a little lazy towards the ending. Anyway, I might do something like this for other stories too – like, you know, a little prequel of sorts – and you guys will have to guess which story it came from! And as for those who suggested ideas to me, I haven't forgotten those – I will write something for your ideas soon, don't worry. I just need to clear out some of my own ideas first. And I need to listen to Prisoner or Paper Plane._


	3. Chapter 3

_**Solitaryloner: **__Okay, for this particular story, I'm going to give this a more local twist. I'm sure most of you know I'm Singaporean, and to be honest, I have no idea whether what students do in Singapore is the same as what…most of you do. So if there's anything strange in this story which makes you wonder, since when do students do this sort of thing? Just remember that Singaporean students do these. So it's pretty normal for me – if you're curious you can always PM me about it, and we can have a chat – I'm up for anything! If you're Singaporean, I'm sure you can relate. Don't you hate how the MRT keeps breaking down?_

* * *

_Shit shit shit I'm late he's going to kill me!_

Yeah, like it wasn't bad enough that he had pushed back their meeting time from 10am to 10.30. You'd think that with another half an hour to get ready, she wouldn't be late. Well, she was Miku Hatsune, notoriously late for everything. She let out a sigh and glanced out of the window – the train had broken down. Again. Okay, so it hadn't really _broken down_, but it was stuck, unmoving, on the train tracks. This was the fifth time such a thing had happened.

Frustrated, she continued playing her game of Minion Rush. She was pretty much addicted to this game. The minions were way too cute to resist. After she played her third game, though, she decided to check her WhatsApp messages – only to find about fifty unread messages in the five minutes she hadn't been checking, of which 45 messages came from her class group spamming about some unreturned Literature essay. Of the other five, two were from a friend – the remaining three came from the guy she was supposed to be meeting. She looked at the time on her screen…10.46am. Oops. No wonder he was asking her where she was.

_I'm so late. Please don't kill me, _she messaged back, staring out of the window again. The train had finally started moving. But she was still quite a distance away from her stop. He had been waiting for her for 15 minutes. She was sure he could wait another fifteen. It wasn't her fault the train broke down. Please, she had woken up at 9 in the morning just to go out. _No one wakes up at freaking 9am on a holiday. I don't care that there are exams right after our holiday. This is exceedingly cruel. _Fine, maybe if she hadn't insisted on meeting early so they could grab seats in the library later, she wouldn't have had to wake up so early…whatever.

_It's okay, the library isn't even open yet, _she looked down to see he had replied. _I'll meet you outside Isetan. Or the Build-a-Bear Workshop. _She frowned. _What? _Where were all these places? Had the idiot forgotten that she lived completely nowhere near his area and had no idea what he was talking about? Fine, so there was such a thing as a mall directory – but no, Miku Hatsune _did not _use mall directories, thank you very much. _Mall directories are for losers. I shall go on a great adventure to find him! …Or maybe I'll just ask him where those places are…_she went back to her game of Minion Rush. Yeah, she was addicted.

_Uh, they're on the third floor, right next to each other. _She saw his reply and didn't bother to answer – she was meeting him soon, anyway. She looked at the time again. 10.50. Miku sighed – she had to stop being so late all the time, this was getting unhealthy. Or maybe it was because of the haze. She was definitely blaming the haze.

* * *

_Where are you? _She opened the message, biting guiltily on her bottom lip. Well, she had reached the station about ten minutes ago, actually – just that she went on a trip to the toilet, and after that she bumped into her junior from Choir. So of course they had a little chat. Now, she was on the escalator, wandering up to the third floor, and wondering why she had chosen to take the escalators when there had been a lift right outside the toilet. Sometimes, she was such an idiot. Where was she now, anyway?

_That's a good question. Where am I? _she texted back, looking around. She was on the third floor, and she didn't see any Isetan in sight. She saw he was typing, and waited for him to reply, panicking a little – was she on the right floor? Had she overshot or something?

_Just walk all the way to the end of the third floor, _okay, he was definitely laughing at her. What an idiot. She started walking, a little hesitant. _But I don't know where I am! _She typed back, looking frantically around. Yeah, here she was, _lost in her own country _like the directionally-challenged dummy she was. She was so good at getting lost that she had managed to do that in her own neighbourhood before. Quite the achievement, really – her parents never ceased making fun of her because of that. It made her sad. Not really.

_Are you serious? Are you at the station? Didn't you come here before? _He replied, but at this point she had found Isetan. She exhaled a little in relief, looking around for him – she found him sitting on one of the kid rides, one of those small rides meant for children while their parents shopped around. She pursed her lips, slightly jealous – he was so _skinny. _The idiot enjoyed playing soccer and all sorts of games; he ate like a horse but never got fat. Instead, he was _losing weight_, and here she was, watching what she ate so carefully. She wished she had the metabolism of a teenage boy. His back was facing her, but she recognised him – she knew him well. Besides, there wasn't exactly anyone else around.

Carefully, wanting to surprise him, she sneaked up behind him, then rested her chin on the miniature roller coaster, waiting for him to turn around. He was playing with his phone, but when she leant over a little, he looked back – _then looked back at his phone. _She blinked, but continued watching him; he turned around again, and this time he just nodded at her, looking completely unsurprised. _Aww, no fun. _"You scared me, you know," he rose from the tiny seat, shouldering his bag, a smirk on his face. "I thought it was some kid, trying to chase me off."

"Bitch," she greeted him, her usual way of saying hi. "Sorry for being late, the train broke down!" she added, putting on a look of apologetic innocence. He stared at her, pursing his lips, looking fairly unconvinced. "Really! It stopped at every station! You know, just…sat there. Without moving. And it kind of added up," she insisted – because it was true. If the train hadn't kept stopping, she would have been only ten minutes late. She counted.

"Okay, okay," he laughed, tilting his head towards the Build-a-Bear workshop. "Can we wait till that opens?" he asked, looking up at her from beneath long eyelashes – he had irritatingly big eyes and long eyelashes – pouting just a little. "It's my little sister's birthday soon, and I want to get a present for her," he added, smiling. Miku shrugged – she was pretty much okay with anything. So they just waited for the store to open, which it did in five minutes.

Her friend – _best friend _– Len Kagamine. It was strange, how close they were, since they only knew each other for what, four months? This was their first year as JC students – short for Junior College – and they were in the same group for Orientation. Things kind of hit it off from there. She was aware that she was pretty much his closest friend _who was a girl_, though he never said anything about it before; the dude was from an all-boy's school. For an entire _decade. _This was his first time in a co-ed school, and the only reason for that was because all JCs were co-ed. She was sure that if there was an all-boys JC, he would have gone there. Mainly because his parents didn't want him to have a girlfriend till after their A Levels.

Len chose a bunny for his sister. "Yeah, it's for someone's birthday," he told the salesperson. Miku couldn't stop herself from laughing at everything Len did – he always put her in such a good mood, simply by being there. The extent to which she relied on him… "Do you think it would be weird if I put a heartbeat in that thing?" he asked her, holding up a small box. From the box emitted the sound of a heart beating. Miku shook her head, still laughing.

"Please don't," she choked, "imagine how your sister would feel!" Len frowned, then nodded and smiled at the sales lady, returning the box to her. Len was noticeably taller than the sales lady – noticeably taller than _Miku, _and that was saying something since Miku was pretty tall for a girl their age. He was 10cm taller than her. And he kept making fun of her height. Apparently, Miku's shoulder made a good armrest. _Ugh, Len can be so annoying sometimes._

The sales lady grinned at them. "So, it's for her birthday?" she held up the plush bunny, tilting her head towards Miku. Both Len and Miku froze for a moment – then Miku shook her head frantically, and Len relaxed, letting out a laugh.

"No, it's for my sister," he smiled. The sales lady made a little 'oh' face and nodded. Miku just bit her lip and tried not to think too much about what had just happened. _Does she think that we're together? Like, a couple? It's not like we were flirting with each other…were we?_

After all, they had just been laughing at each other. The way close friends would.

* * *

Len took twenty minutes to finish getting the bunny, which was now in a cute little box that he was carefully keeping out of Miku's reach – he knew how much Miku adored soft toys, and once she got a hold of that bunny, he probably wasn't going to see it again. Miku huffed.

They went up to the top floor, where the library was. Today, the main point of going out was to study at the library. To study Economics and Maths, specifically. It was the last week of their June holidays, and their exams were on Monday. Miku would rather go out to watch a movie or something – but no, Len had gone out with his old friends way too many times during the holidays, and was now so behind in his studies that he couldn't afford to go out for leisure anymore. So in the end, they agreed to go out to study. Miku wondered whether she would be productive, since she had the tendency to talk when she was studying with a friend.

Then again, they were going to the library. "Do you want your banana milk now?" she asked him absent-mindedly, looking around as they went up the escalator. "You know, the milk I got from Korea…the milk you thought was _mustard,_" she sniffed scathingly. Len looked sheepish, grinning at her. He had a charming smile – hell, she thought he was one of the most attractive guys she had ever met. _But he is such an idiot!_

"I'll try it after lunch," he shrugged. With a grand flourish, he pulled a bottle out of his bag. "For now, I have honey lemon to keep me going," he announced, opening the bottle. She let out a giggle. _Poor thing, down with a sore throat one week before our exams. Ah well. _She might bully him a lot, but she couldn't deny that she cared a lot about him. Though she didn't show it as much as he did. Miku happened to be remarkably accident-prone. Len knew every single time she got injured, and he always told her to be more careful, to take care of herself. He was just like an older brother to her. Which was strange, since he was younger than her.

She still couldn't get over how their friendship had blossomed. They weren't in the same class or co-curricular activity – weren't even in the same _faculty. _He took Sciences, while she was in Arts. Under normal circumstances, they shouldn't even have become good friends, since they only met because of orientation. To be honest, she didn't even talk to him during Orientation – couldn't even remember his _name _– and the only thing she noticed about him was that he was cute. Easily the cutest guy in their orientation group…

"I think there aren't any seats left," Len suddenly groaned, as they walked into the library. She glanced around – true enough, there were students everywhere, frantically studying for their exams. _But it's only 11 in the morning…_ "Then we'll have to sit on the couch," he decided, looking around. She just followed him – this was his area, and he knew it much better than she did. They found a couch, they sat, and spent five minutes being distracted by her WhatsApp. See, Miku had another guy friend – his name was Piko, though Miku was closer to Len than to Piko – and Piko and Len happened to live in the same area. They were almost neighbours, and were from the same orientation group as well.

Miku felt a little guilty talking to Piko, because she knew Piko regarded her as a best friend, while she did not do the same for him. In fact, to everyone, even herself, it was fairly obvious that she much preferred Len over Piko. Piko knew that she was studying with Len today. She hadn't exactly meant to tell him, since she got the feeling that Piko was jealous of her close friendship with Len. It was just that she told Piko she was going out to study today, at the shopping mall near his house – when he asked with who, she just said with Len. Piko started laughing, saying that it was obvious – _there's no way you'd come all the way here otherwise. And I knew you would try to meet up with Len at least once during the holiday._

Whatever. Piko mentioned he might drop by, and she said he was free to do so, if he wanted. She hadn't told Len, because Len was such an idiot – "Hey, you're messaging Piko again, huh?" Len suddenly glanced across at the screen, a sly smirk on his face. Miku frowned. _Oh no, there he goes again. _"I know you two are into each other and everything," he began, "but we're here to _study, _Miku," he tutted. "You should stop WhatsApp-ing now!"

"I don't like Piko!" Miku complained, ignoring the teasing smile on Len's face. "Shut up!" she continued WhatsApp-ing him, though. Len sighed, reaching out for her phone – Miku kept her squeal in and leant away from him, not allowing him to take it.

"Miku, we're supposed to study, text your boyfriend another time," Len nudged her. She glared at him, not deigning to reply his comment – she said bye to Piko and put her phone down. _Len you idiot you know perfectly well that I do not like Piko that way and I will never like Piko that way and you know I hate it when you tease me about this why won't you just stop already you irritating little brat._ Len shot her phone a sly look. "I'm gonna find out your password," he whispered, in a sing-song kind of way. She gave him a dirty look.

"Not gonna let you," she told him smugly. He just shot her a look – _we'll see about that. _Okay, it was just because of what happened _yesterday. _She had been out studying with another friend, and she might have…okay, fine, she fell asleep in the library. Len, being the protective best friend slash older brother he was, said that she was _not _allowed to fall asleep today, and if she did that he was going to steal her phone and probably damage her reputation. _So you'd better not sleep, okay? _Problem was, she was already feeling kind of sleepy – she slept at 1am last night, and had gotten an incredible amount of grief for that. Especially since he kept telling her to sleep early last night. Oops. But she hadn't felt sleepy!

They finally got around to studying – he started asking her whether she would actually be able to study though, when she got off the couch and sat on the floor to study. "Isn't that kind of uncomfortable?" he whispered, staring at her – she was sitting on the floor, using the couch as a table. "The librarian will tell you to get off the floor soon, anyway," he added, glancing around. She waved his comments away, returning to her studies – he smirked, then flipped her book over, so that it landed on her face. She sat up, glaring at him; he simply smiled angelically and went back to his books. She huffed, looking away from him.

She did fall asleep _once_. When he noticed, he just poked her with her phone, and gave her a warning look. She rolled her eyes, but rubbed the sleep away from her eyelids, reading her notes. After that, so absorbed was she that when Len next nudged her, it took her a while to react. She glanced up – from Len's other side, a familiar person waved to her, and she gaped at him. "Piko," Len whispered, quite unnecessarily. There was a teasing smirk on his face, but he didn't start saying anything, much to her relief. She stuck her tongue out at him, waved at Piko, then went back to studying again. She was actually being productive, for once.

After an hour or so, when her butt was getting tired of the hard floor, she went back up to the couch, shifting and fidgeting around the way she always did – Miku was pretty hyperactive, and found it impossibly difficult to remain still for too long a period. Len didn't react to her shifting around – he was pretty used to it, though they actually didn't talk a lot face to face – and after a while, Miku's stomach started rumbling. "I'm hungry," she whined, pushing Len lightly. He looked up, closed his books, and poked Piko, tilting his head in her direction.

"Lunch?" he asked simply. So the three of them just got off the couch and went out of the library. The two boys, being the easy-going people they were, allowed her to decide where they would go for lunch. Miku wanted chicken at first, which indicated KFC, but Len looked a little conflicted. "I have a sore throat…ah, why don't you two go to KFC, then I'll get something else and find you two later?" he asked. Miku worried her lip – she didn't want to be left alone with Piko. Not just because she preferred Len over Piko; she didn't want Len to tease her about this later. Anyway, she didn't want Len to be alone.

"Never mind…let's eat at the food court, okay?" she said. Len and Piko just shrugged, and they went down the escalators to the basement – Len constantly guiding her and nudging her in the right direction, perfectly aware of how bad her sense of direction was.

On the way down, Len and Miku talked; Piko just hung around behind them, making Miku feel a little bad, since she felt she was neglecting him. Len and Piko had spoken a lot during Orientation – both of them were from all-boys schools in the past, and their orientation group was made up of mostly girls, which was why they hung out together a lot. But once orientation was over, the two of them went their separate ways, and Miku didn't think that they talked a lot very much anymore. Len kept poking her head – gently though, way more gently than how she poked him – and she pouted, shaking his hand off. He wouldn't stop teasing her about acting cute on the phone while she was talking to her dad.

It wasn't her fault that her voice naturally went higher-pitched when she was trying to get money out of her parents. Len was always on her case about acting cute. He said it was really creepy and that her high-pitched voice sent shivers down his spine. And she would retort that this was rich, coming from him – he was the _master _of acting cute. He had such pretty features – all he had to do was pout, and she would probably just melt and give him whatever he wanted. Not that he was fond of pouting. Like her, he pretty much only whined and acted vulnerable whenever he wanted something done his way, which didn't happen very often.

They reached the food court without much mishap, where they had lunch. During lunch, Miku talked a lot more to Piko than she did to Len. Len and Piko themselves barely talked to each other – the only time they said anything to each other was when they were agreeing on how she liked to act cute. _They always talk about that…idiots. _While Len was off buying his food – a herbal soup, since he had a bad throat – Piko just kept teasing her about how her voice went ridiculously high-pitched whenever she was talking to Len. She was pretty damn sure that this did _not _happen – she talked to Len and Piko in the same voice.

She was eating curry noodles, and while she was trying to eat a prawn – she really didn't like to eat prawns, why was she torturing herself this way – a bit of curry splattered on her phone, which was on the table. "Damn," she muttered. "Does anyone have tissue?" Piko took a packet out of his bag; she wasn't surprised at all that he had tissue. She grinned sheepishly, indicating her phone, and with a resigned sigh Piko started to wipe the curry off for her. Len was watching, and at that moment, he turned to stare incredulously at her.

"Are you serious?" he asked bluntly, indicating poor Piko, who was still wiping her phone. Miku just shrugged – at that moment, a loud bang suddenly sounded in the food court, causing her to stiffen in surprise. Len saw her remaining stock-still, and he laughed. "You're so easy to scare," he teased her. She folded her arms and glared at him.

"I was not scared, I was _startled_," she emphasised the last word. He just ignored her words, gazing at her mouth with a faint frown on his face. She immediately felt a little self-conscious, especially when he grinned to himself, making her wonder what was amusing him.

"Just finish your food. You have some curry on your mouth," he added, reaching out for the watermelon juice he had placed on the table. Which she had drank from. Miku had a tendency to steal Len's food…not that he ever denied her that, though he did warn her that he had a sore throat today. She didn't care – it was just a sore throat. When he came back with the watermelon juice, she had asked him what it was, and he bluntly told her that it was blood. Which was why she drank it to begin with. Honestly, she was not fond of watermelon juice.

Anyway, she talked to Piko the most throughout lunch – so much that Len grew bored listening to them talk about stuff, and instead went on his phone to watch YouTube videos of the soccer match he had missed last night. Miku resisted the urge to roll her eyes at him. _Yep, obsessed with soccer as he ever was. _Even after they all finished their food, they chose to remain seated for a while, just chatting away about random things; Miku didn't even realise that she was leaning on Len's shoulder until Len abruptly shifted away. "Hey, don't take any pictures!" he whined at Piko, who had taken his phone out and was obviously taking a shot of them together. Miku looked up from her phone, a little confused – she scowled at Piko.

Piko just grinned and shrugged, putting his phone away. Miku looked back down at her phone, multi-tasking as always – she was pretty good at replying her WhatsApp messages and holding a conversation with people at the same time, if she said so herself. She was already pretty used to people trying to take pictures of her with Len. Their orientation group remained fairly close, in comparison to other groups, and they went out for dinner and such sometimes – whenever these outings happened, people always tried to tease her or Len about each other, simply because they were close. _What, can't a guy and girl be close friends? _There were actually a bunch of photos in their WhatsApp group of her hugging him, or leaning on him, or just _touching _him. It was silly, because they were just _friends._

Not that she actually really, really minded the teasing. She was okay with being teased about Len, though she always denied everything, the same way he did. She just didn't like it whenever she was teased about Piko…particularly whenever Len did such a thing.

* * *

After lunch, Piko had to go off somewhere, so he said bye and went off. At this point, Miku checked her messages again – she had a WhatsApp message from Piko; she looked. _I love you! _She read, blinked, and instantly remembered seeing Len with Piko's phone in his hand, a devious smile on his face. She put two and two together immediately. "Len!" she scowled, waving her phone in his face. Len blinked, glanced at the message, then smiled sweetly.

"Aww, he loves you, isn't that sweet?" he ruffled her hair. She cringed, shaking his hand off. At that point, she got another message from Piko, who had evidently noticed the words that _he had not sent _– "_Look, Len says he loves you! Isn't that adorable?_" Miku just hid her face in her hands and whimpered. Now both of them were ganging up against her. _Idiots._

Len saw the message, and grabbed her phone – she yelped, trying to snatch it back, but couldn't since he was so much taller than her. He began talking to Piko, definitely pretending to be her, and she growled in frustration. During lunch, they had been talking about the way Len treated everyone – he was known to be Mr Nice Guy, and he was always kind and helped people whenever he could. He was mean only to her. She had never seen him bully anyone else the way he bullied her. He was nice to _everyone _except her! The closer they were, the worse he became. It was so frustrating. _Now I see his true colours._

"Len," she waved her finger threateningly at him, "let me see what the hell you're doing with my phone!" he just grinned and shook his head, holding her phone out of reach still. After a while, he finally returned her the phone; she looked through her messages, and groaned in dismay. He had just sent Piko a bunch of messages proclaiming 'Miku's' love for him. "I hate you," she told him. He just shot her a charming grin, not sorry in the slightest bit.

She locked her phone. "Not gonna work, I'll just figure out your password again," Len said confidently. Okay, fine, so he had found out what was her old password during lunch. She didn't know how he managed to do that. She changed it during lunch too, and now he wouldn't stop laughing at her because she kept accidentally keying in the old one.

She ignored him. That was all the respect he deserved – still, she couldn't help the smile that flitted across her lips. Yeah, he was an idiot, but he was still her best friend.

* * *

When they went back to the library, there were no more seats. Again. This time, the two of them decided to wander back down to Starbucks to study. There were available seats, but most of the tables were small – they found a large table, but it was a sofa seat. They looked at each other, decided that they should take the sofa seat, and went over. At first, Len sprawled himself over the whole sofa, and told her to sit on the wooden chairs on the other side – she glared at him, and with a sigh, he got off the sofa. She planted herself on the seat.

"But the wooden chairs are so low," Len whined, dumping his bag next to her. Low chairs were uncomfortable for him since he was so damn _tall. _"And do you want to get something to drink?" he asked, looking at the counter. They were at a café, after all.

"You know, you could sit here. Next to me. Unlike you, I don't happen to take up the whole sofa," she pointed out bluntly. He just continued tilting his head in the direction of the counter, then folded his arms when she didn't appear to be getting off the sofa any time soon.

"I'm just going to get a drink now," he said, walking off. She scrambled off the sofa, following him – the only reason why she went after him was because he had grabbed her phone in the process. And she didn't want him to have any access to her precious baby.

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" she caught up with him at the counter. "Wow, everything's so expensive here," she leant over to whisper in his ear. Len was just staring at the drinks, his brow furrowed slightly in concentration. She took the chance to look at him, as she had been doing the whole day. He was so pretty. Well, maybe not exactly pretty…handsome.

"What should I get?" he mused. At that point, her phone received a new message, and Len looked – suddenly, he crowed in triumph. "Look, Piko says he loves you!" he showed her, careful to keep the phone out of her grasp. Piko had responded to a conversation Miku had taken absolutely no part in. It went something like this:

Len: _Piko, I love you, you dummy!_

Piko: _I'm not gonna be a third wheel anymore! Enjoy your study date!_

Len: _I'm in love with you._

Piko: _Not surprised, few can resist my charms._

Miku (who had wrested control of her phone back at this point): _Ew._

Piko: _It's okay, Miku…Len is a close substitute for me. He's taller too. Not as good-looking maybe, but more buff! _(When Miku read that, she wanted to laugh.) _And richer!_

Len: _I love you. You're my first choice. He is like, a far substitute._

Piko: _I love you too._

Which was when Len started laughing and trying to screen-shot the conversation. Miku lost her restraint and started yelling at him, laughing desperately, trying to get her phone back. Len was standing before her, holding her phone out – she clung on to him from behind, trying to get it back. She knew that if he wanted to, he could have held on to it forever; he must have decided to be nice to her for once, and let her yank it away from him. "You idiot! Look, he replied again," she huffed, wiping her screen clean of their fingerprints.

Piko: _Platonically._

Miku: _THAT WAS LEN. LEN LOVES YOU._

Piko: _Ew. Gay. I'm sorry Len, I only see you as a friend. Nothing more._

Miku: _He's sad because you rejected him._

Piko: _Tell him to move on. Find someone else, but stay away from Gumi _(Gumi happened to be Piko's not so secret crush. Len knew about her too.) _Hope that makes him feel better!_

Then Miku realised that all this had happened right in front of the cashier, in the middle of the café, and everyone was now staring at them. Miku resisted the urge to hide her face in her hands. Len was pretending that nothing had happened, clearly. "Oh, I want a lavender Earl Grey tea," he said, glancing at Miku, since Miku was the one who had professed interest in the drink. "A medium. And a large one, too," he added. The cashier nodded, and Len paid for them both. "You are such a burden," he sighed, walking back towards their sofa seat.

"Says you," Miku stuck her tongue out at him. "I should tell Piko that you already have Rui," she added, just to get back at him. Rui, another girl who was in the same orientation group as them, was someone Len sort of had his eye on. Back in the beginning, Miku had always pestered Len about who he had a crush on; she just sort of expected him to have one, since it had been ten years since he last met any girls in school. Len hadn't budged about the crush.

Finally, after three months – she constantly teased him about Rui, since Len and Rui appeared to talk on their Orientation WhatsApp group a lot – Len finally caved in and told her that he liked Rui. Or, at least, he was kind of interested in her; he admitted that he was not sure if he liked her that way, or if he just considered her a good friend he found attractive. Still, that he had admitted anything along these lines was sufficient for Miku, and now she teased him about Rui every time he tried to pair her up with Piko. He would react a lot like how she did – in other words, Len would totally overreact each time – but now…

"Bleh," he looked away from her, down at his lap, where he had placed all his books. Miku blinked, a little startled – _What happened to his usual reactions? Normally, he would be all like, "Miku don't! I don't want things to be awkward – you already know that I don't know if I like her that way, maybe I don't, can we not talk about this blah blah blah…"_ Yet this time, his reaction was totally cold. _Is he actually over her or something? He's no fun…_she pursed her lips, taking her notes out of her bag. "Hey, stop WhatsApp-ing Piko all right?" he added, glancing across at her. "We're supposed to be studying!" he added cheekily.

"Yeah, wait, I promised to send him something," she murmured. Piko had lost some of his notes, so she told him she would take a picture of whatever he missed out and send it to him. Len watched as she tried to take a shot of that page – every time she pressed the camera button, he did something to mess the picture up. Like stick his hand in front of her phone, or move the paper, or just _something. _After the third time, he was getting on her nerves, and she told him to stop – of course he didn't listen to her, because he was a total idiot.

Finally, after he pushed her notes away as she tried to take the picture, he glanced at her phone screen. "Did you get the shot?" he asked. She nodded, no longer irritated with him – she was rarely every truly annoyed at him – and sent the picture to Piko. Then, she placed her phone aside, and tried hard to study. Of course, it didn't help that she was reading up on Economics, which was a subject she had no fondness for; besides, she had more interesting things to focus on, such as Len's horribly messy scrawl. They kept lapsing into conversation every few moments, talking about how they studied in the past, and about their lives before JC – after all, Len and Miku had never met before this year, when they went up to JC.

Their tea arrived. Miku finished her tea, and went on to drink Len's tea – again, he warned her about his sore throat, but she just ignored him. He asked her why she didn't just order a large one, since it was only 20 cents more expensive than the medium one. Miku chose not to answer him because she herself thought that was fairly idiotic of her. While they studied, Miku was curled up on the sofa, her head leaning against Len's side; Len was just sitting there, reading his notes. They kept playing around though – frankly, Miku thought they were much more productive in the library, since they kept talking and poking each other in the café.

Like whenever she shifted the table away. Miku had a tendency to fidget around, and sometimes she would kick the table away from the sofa. Len finally snapped when that happened the tenth time; he looked up at her, a cheeky smile on his face. "Someone has fat legs," he sang. Miku instantly slapped her notes down, glaring up at him. He placed his hand on her knee, and she stiffened – _Oh no. _He knew she was ticklish. He squeezed her knee playfully, and she yelped shrilly, falling behind him, her face buried in his back.

"Don't touch me!" she gasped, laughing. Then, she rose back up, slapping his hand away. "No I do not," she huffed in response to the 'fat leg' comment. "You're just a boy! Go away!" she punched him in the stomach. He winced. That reminded her of an argument they had about whether or not he had abs. She didn't know, nor did she really want to see him shirtless, so she preferred not to know. "Your tummy is so soft," she giggled. "I don't believe you have abs. You're all skin and bones."

That set him off. "No!" he shot her an exaggerated look of affront. "Okay, try punching me again," he invited. She poked him, and shook her head. "It's hard when I'm standing," he rose from the sofa. She poked him again – _okay, fine, his stomach is hard _– but it was too fun to tease him. Plus, she couldn't be sure those were really abs, anyway. He was so _skinny. _

"Nope. Ribs. All I felt were ribs," she grinned. He ran his fingers through his hair, collapsing back onto the sofa. His hand ruffled her hair, as was his habit, and she yelped at him.

"Well, I just had lunch! Of course my tummy is soft! I have abs like, before breakfast and dinner and lunch," he huffed. Miku just bit her lip, a small laugh sputtering out of her mouth – _Dear God, Len, what kind of logic is that? _"Can we get back to studying now?" he added, slouching down on the sofa. Miku leant back down against him, then frowned and glanced around. No, this wasn't comfortable at all. He was leaning too far down in the seat.

"Could you, you know…sit up a little?" she asked. He tsked, then slowly shifted himself up in the seat. She smiled happily, leaning against him. It was normal for her to lean against his shoulder. Last time, she did it because she was really tired – he was the perfect height for her to lean on, which was why she did it. He used to look at her strangely whenever she did that, and he would ask her whether she was okay, though he never tried to push her off or anything like that. Now, she could lean on him whenever she wanted. He must have gotten used to it.

"Why don't you lean on the sofa arm?" he indicated said arm. It was ridiculously low, and Miku would have to sprawl out on the sofa to do such a thing. She wrinkled her nose, and shook her head. He sighed. "You better not fall asleep on me," he told her. _Because we're supposed to be studying and not sleeping. Yes, you've mentioned that. Several times._

"Your shoulder is too bony for me to sleep on," she said playfully. He blinked, looking unhappy again – she knew he was acting, and she couldn't stop herself from giggling.

"Fine, be that way," he announced dramatically, shifting away from her. "Since my shoulder is too _bony_…" she instantly reached out, grabbing his shoulder again.

"No, come back!" she cried out, shaking him. He sighed and shifted closer, allowing her to place her head against his arm again. "You…" he looked at his notes. Actually, this was the first time Miku was studying with Len, and she found it considerably productive. He himself did say that he had done way more work than if he had remained at home, anyway. She knew very few people who could work at home. She most certainly could not.

After a while, her brain numbed by Economics – Len had taught her a little, and it surprised her that he actually knew anything because they were in the same Economics lecture, and Len usually fell asleep during every single lecture – she placed her book on his lap, sighing in defeat. "I don't understand again," she complained. "Where is the welfare loss in this graph? It doesn't make any sense. I hate Economics. I'm going to fail everything so badly," she groaned, placing her own head down on her lap. She felt him pick her book up, his other hand threading through her hair, playing with it reassuringly. Suddenly, he tapped her head.

She actually rather liked it whenever he patted her head or played with her hair, though she always made a show of cringing away or pretending she was in pain. "Okay, it's really easy," he told her, pointing at the graph. Then he went on to explain. Miku liked it when Len explained – he made everything clear and simple to understand, especially since he put it all in a concise way. Her teacher liked to ramble on and on; it sucked for her.

Len kept laughing about her Economics essay, which had dropped out of her notes. _"Miku, what the hell are you writing here?" _Normally, she would be annoyed, but she could understand why he was laughing – to be honest, she had no idea what she was writing for those essays either. Which was probably why she got one out of ten for the first one, and three out of fifteen for the second – which added up to a grand total of four out of twenty-five. Which was pretty bad. And he would not stop _laughing _about it.

He finished studying Economics first, and moved on to Maths; after a while, Miku did the same, exhausted by her least favourite subject. She actually preferred Maths over Economics. But, her brain still dead, she could barely focus on any of the questions. Len was pretty much facing the same problem as her. They had been studying from eleven am till then, and the time was already 4.30 or so. Five hours of studying economics was not easy. So the two of them decided to do Maths for another hour before they finally stopped and went home.

Of course, they didn't manage to last another hour, and at 5pm, Len packed up his bag and asked if she wanted to go get ice cream. Elated at the thought of stopping this hell, Miku instantly agreed and got ready to go. So they went to get McDonald's ice cream.

They settled some matters, like the fact that she still owed him money for the tea – Miku owed Len money on a pretty regular basis, and no one was ever surprised whenever she said she was in debt – and she agreed to pay him back when school reopened and she actually started receiving her pocket money again. _Six dollars for tea is no laughing matter._

Then Len ran into one of his old friends, back in secondary school, and they talked for a while. Miku could overhear a bit of their conversation – "Hey, Len, you have a girlfriend already?" She saw him shake his head, and knew he was saying she was just a friend. The same way she always said Len was just her friend. It was silly, that people always thought they were a couple. It wasn't like what they did was particularly couple-like. They didn't even go out one-to-one all that much. Just one other time, to watch a movie together…

Yet, Piko kept telling her that when he went to study with her and Len, he kept feeling like they were a couple, somehow, out on a date, and he was intruding. Plus, Miku's best friend Luka, who called and asked her about her study outing with Len, also said that they were so _much _like a couple, it wasn't natural. Which confused Miku a lot. Because, they just saw each other as siblings, really. There wasn't really anything wrong with her leaning on his shoulder, was there? And he liked to ruffle her hair – wasn't that something older brothers did?

Okay, so sometimes they linked arms and stuff. And sometimes she hugged him. That was _it. _Nothing more. Not that she wanted anything more. Maybe she used to, but now she _didn't. _It was so embarrassing to think about it…back when she actually sort of liked Len.

She used to have a crush on Kaito, who was a student from the same school as her, a guy who went to the same JC as she did after their O Level exams. And she thought she would like Kaito for a pretty long time, since she had liked him since…three years ago, maybe? But then, she and Kaito didn't talk very much – even back when they were in the same school, the same class, the same co-curricular activity, they had never been particularly close. And, after a while, she realised she was losing interest in Kaito; she was gravitating more towards Len, who was _nothing _like Kaito. Len was so much nicer – _at first _– so much more open and friendly. So much easier to talk to than Kaito, who always seemed to be surrounded by people. He was cool, he was easy-going; but Miku had never really known how to talk to him.

She just felt so much better around Len. So she and Len struck up a friendship, something that started off through WhatsApp – they weren't in the same class, so they didn't exactly have a lot of opportunities to talk in real life. After a while, she realised she was sort of developing a crush on him; something that she didn't really want to have. But she couldn't let go of that, and she tried to hide it well – not that she did a good job. Most of the people who observed her interacting with Len guessed that she had some feelings for the obtuse idiot.

Or…not as obtuse as he seemed. Sure, it took him a while to start suspecting, but after a while he did – he actually asked her about it, and said that he couldn't really see her as anything other than a good friend. She knew that, she accepted that, she told him that she saw him only as an older brother and that she didn't like him that way. A lie, of course. She told him that in the past, she was attracted to him, but after they got close she stopped liking him; in truth, it was the other way round. She only started liking him _after _they got close. He didn't suspect her of lying, and that was the end of it. She didn't like him.

_I don't like him! _Yeah, she was sure she didn't like him anymore. They still brought up her old crush on him sometimes; they had a running gag going on about it, in fact. There was once where she mentioned that her standards weren't that high, since she had 'liked him in the past'. So now, whenever he wanted to make her feel guilty, he would just sigh and say that he was of a low standard, and that he was sorry he wasn't good enough for her. It always made her laugh and apologise, though it wasn't serious, and they both knew it.

They were close enough to discuss anything from marriage to…well, more explicit things. And it made her wonder what kind of path their relationship was taking. She really only saw him as a brother now; just wanted to talk to him and everything, since she felt a sense of closeness with Len that she rarely felt with anyone else. Yet, whenever she thought of him liking someone _romantically…_she sighed. _Whatever. _Luka kept telling her that she thought, one day something big was going to happen between her and Len.

Miku couldn't help thinking that something big might happen to, as how Luka put it. She knew that their closeness would definitely lead to something – she just wondered what it would be. And she wondered whether she even wanted to know, since she wasn't even sure how she felt about him. Sometimes, she felt that she only liked him as a best friend; yet, at other times, she kept feeling that she wanted something more. But what was the more?

She couldn't be sure. She didn't think she would ever be sure.

* * *

_**Solitaryloner **__Okay, guys. This isn't a plea for reviews. Well…this isn't exactly like my usual style of writing, I know. No fluff, no hint of romance, just pure LenKu friendship. Why? Because this is MY situation at the moment. All this has happened before – just this week, in fact – and it is KILLING me. I think you can pretty much guess who is who; for starters, my role in this story would be that of Miku, the very confused girl who isn't sure about her feelings towards her best friend. Who is a very attractive guy. I am so annoyed at myself._

_This is why it's all Miku's point of view. I can't read my best friend's mind, so I have no idea what he would be thinking about the same day I just described. So I can't really talk about what Len was thinking, either. I'm just asking you guys – what do you think of my situation? I really need help…you don't even have to review the story just give me ideas about what to do. I am so sick of looking at him and feeling like this. Like Miku. And I really want to sort out my feelings because I don't want to mess it up and make it awkward like people are already asking me whether we have a friends-with-benefits kind of friendship and oh God I don't even know if you don't want to review with your thoughts could you PM me I welcome anything at this point of time. Before I die of embarrassment or something. I can't do this._


	4. Chapter 4

_**Solitaryloner: **__Yeah, one day I will actually work on all the drabble requests I've received so far. I haven't forgotten the one about Paper Plane or Prisoner…it's just that I haven't listened to the song yet, nor am I really in the mood to do so at the moment (I've heard the opening part of the two songs, and honestly they're not really my type.)_

_This story is rated K+. By the way, in case no one has noticed yet, I've kind of given up on naming each chapter. It's too much of a hassle to do such a thing. The pairings in this one shot are LenKu and OliRin, like PokeCrafter has requested._

* * *

"…you can't do that, Miku."

That simple phrase left her feeling incredibly annoyed. "And why not, Oliver?" she asked, one hand reaching up to her headphones, the other hand wrapped loosely around a tree branch. She was about to swing herself up onto the tree – she liked to sit in trees and think, because no one would ever think to look for her while she was in a tree. However, Oliver, one of the Student Council executives, was staring blatantly at her, clearly saying that she could not do such a thing. Like hell she cared. She had been doing this for ages.

"You might fall and injure yourself. Plus, shouldn't you be having classes now?" he added pointedly, staring at his watch, before his eye flicked back up to her. Yeah, eye, because his other eye was always covered by a bandage. From what she heard, it was because he had a bit of a lazy eye problem, and the bandage was just a temporary thing. Yet, other people said the boy had gotten into a fight and lost the sight in one eye, in the process. Miku honestly didn't think the latter reason was particularly believable.

"Maybe?" she shrugged, ignoring Oliver's splutter of irritation as she paid no heed to his words, climbing agilely up the tree trunk, just like a monkey. "Like you too, Mr Student Council Executive," she sniffed, tossing her long teal hair over her shoulder in disdain. Her hair was currently tied into a ponytail, and several leaves had gotten themselves stuck within her locks. She didn't care very much about that – Miku Hatsune had never been someone who paid much attention to her appearance.

"No, I'm on duty now," Oliver retorted. "Don't pretend to know my schedule when we're not even in the same class. I'm going to tell your brother," Oliver threatened, though the warning effect of his words was lessened when he glanced helplessly downwards, in the direction of the badge pinned to his chest. The Student Council was largely respected in the school – it was a given, since theirs was such a _prestigious _and _high-class _institution; but Miku was one of the rare few rebellious students who hardly gave them the time of day.

"Tell him, then," Miku waved her hand carelessly, leaning comfortably against the tree trunk, her eyes closing in the dappled sunlight. "See if Mikuo cares. He doesn't mind what I do, so long as I don't hurt myself or mess up my studies," she added smugly, knowing she was right. Her older brother, Mikuo Hatsune, was the President of the Student Council, but he was remarkably indulgent when it came to his sister. He trusted her to take care of herself, and generally turned a blind eye to her deviant actions. She knew where his boundaries were, and she was careful not to overstep that boundary, though she did push the line aplenty. Skipping class was okay with Mikuo, however.

"Miku, really," Oliver sighed, his blond hair glimmering under the sunlight. It reminded her of…she pushed the thought away. No, Oliver's hair was just a few shades lighter than _his. _"Don't skip class again. I don't want to report you to the Discipline Committee – Rin would kill me," Oliver rubbed the bridge of his nose in frustration. Rin Kagamine was Oliver's girlfriend, and she also happened to be Miku's best friend. Miku knew that Rin would be most displeased if her boyfriend ever hauled her best friend in front of the Discipline Committee…which basically gave Miku a lot of leeway to do what she wanted.

"Get someone else to report me, then," she teased. She knew, however, that Oliver would never do such a thing. The boy was stubborn to a fault – he had taken her defiance to be something personal, and he wouldn't rest until he one day managed to drag her back to class, and change her from the rebel she was to a model student. Someone who was more like Rin, in other words. Miku snorted; Oliver would have to wait a long time for that. It wasn't in Miku's nature to be confined to the classroom, not when there was the great outdoors, fine weather outside, and school grounds just waiting to be explored.

"You know I won't do that," Oliver pursed his lips. "Or perhaps I might," he said slowly, causing Miku to arch a single, slender eyebrow. "I just might," he repeated, this time in a more sullen, defeated tone of voice. "Just you wait, Hatsune. I'll make you go back to class and follow the rules, just wait," he blustered some more, before he tugged on the edge of his maroon school jacket, hurrying away from the tree she was seeking refuge in. Miku blinked at his retreating back – no, she found it hard to believe that he would resign just like that. She would call his bluff; there was no way he would get someone else. Who could he call for help, anyway? Even the President didn't mind her actions.

Miku reclined where she was sitting, being careful not to fall off the thick and sturdy oak branch. It was difficult to find tree branches capable of supporting her weight – though she was not what one would consider heavy – and it gladdened her greatly whenever she managed to find one. It was a fine day today, in the grounds of Yukio Academy, and the sun was pleasantly warm on her face. She felt herself drifting gently to sleep, and she had to struggle to keep herself awake; if she slept, she might fall off –

"Hatsune." The new voice shocked her, making her jump slightly, her eyes flying wide open – with a shriek, she fell off the tree, squeezing her eyes tightly shut as she braced herself for impact with the ground. Instead of crashing onto the hard earth, however, she fell into someone's arms – _his _arms. Her eyes opened marginally, and she saw a very, very familiar pair of cerulean eyes – eyes that were just like her best friend's, eyes which were now regarding her with a mixture of seriousness and amusement…

She yelped, scrambling away from him. "D-Don't touch me!" she squeaked, wincing as she spoke. She didn't intend to sound so terrified of him. "I mean, stay where you are! Don't come anywhere near me!" she regained control of her voice, and it became steadier as she spoke. The boy just shrugged, a small, amused smile on his face, his bright blond hair falling messily over his blue eyes. This was the head of the Discipline Committee, the twin brother of her best friend…and his name happened to be Len Kagamine. She had to suppress a blush from appearing at the very thought of the name.

"Oliver said he was having trouble with a problematic student. I'm not surprised to see it's you," Len stated, folding his arms across his chest. He was wearing the school blazer as well, and it made him look much more sharp and polished than she was used to. Len wasn't in her class, and the few times she ever bumped into him in the school was during the weekends, when students were allowed to wear casual clothes. She rarely ever saw him in their school uniform, and that wasn't something she was used to.

"Leave me alone," she grumbled, turning away from him, brushing herself down, picking leaves and twigs out of her hair – for some reason she could not quite comprehend, she always seemed to notice her appearance more whenever Len was in the vicinity. It made no sense to her, nor did she want to acknowledge that she acted strangely in his presence. After all, she was a well-known rebel in the school, and she didn't want anyone to know that she was any different in the presence of the Head of the Discipline Committee. Her reputation as the lone wolf would no doubt be flushed down the drain.

"No. You have to get back to class," he said severely. "Students aren't supposed to be on the campus grounds during lesson hours. You need to serve detention again, for playing truant," he added, staring hard at her – she fidgeted under his stare. This wasn't the first time Len had given her detention. She had skipped it every single time – which was one reason why she was not fond of running into him, since he tried to force her to stay around after school, to undergo her punishment. No way. She would not waste her time in a closed room with the stern-eyed blond idiot; she had far better things to do.

"You can't make me," she said sullenly, winding locks of her teal hair absently around her fingers. His small smile turned into something more like a smirk, as he leant his weight on one leg, just studying her intently. She wondered what he was thinking. Len was completely nothing like his sister, Rin, despite the two of them being twins. Rin was open, bubbly and easy to read. Len was a closed book, and she could never quite guess what he was thinking. He was impossible to read, and she didn't like that – she didn't like that she could never be certain of whether he was telling the truth or not.

Sometimes, though, he seemed easier to decipher. Sometimes, she thought she could see a faint blush on his face, whenever she saw him looking at her, and he thought she didn't notice his stare – and she would wonder why. She didn't know much about him, nor did he know much about her – the two of them saw each other as rebellious student and Head of the Discipline Committee. The only reason why they even interacted was so that he could give her detention. Or at least, try to do that. Not that she ever turned up.

"You know, you only never got into trouble for skipping detention because I didn't report you to the discipline master," Len said sharply, causing her to turn back and face him, her eyes widening slightly at his words. "But if you skip this time, I _will _report you, mark my words. And you have to make up for all the other times you missed as well," he added, raising an eyebrow at her as she spluttered at him. "Miku, you didn't really think that I would let you off so easily, did you?" he ran his fingers through his blond hair.

"Are you threatening me?" she placed her hands on her hips, challenging him. He tilted his head, and she got the feeling that he was extremely amused by her – however, since he was a closed book, she couldn't be certain that was what he was feeling. "Because it is not working," she added, in case he took her words the wrong way. Though, of course, it did. Maybe just a little…though she hated to admit that. She had never been brought to the discipline master before, come to think of it. She had always attributed that to sheer good luck – but it seemed that this wasn't the case. Had Len been covering up for her?

"So what if I am?" he answered, his tone blunt. "You're in the wrong here, and you know it," he paused, letting that sink in. She just glared fiercely back at him, and his lips tilted up into another small smile. It wasn't a mocking smile, but it still annoyed her to no end. What did he find so funny? "Well, I'll see you later, then. After school. Now get to class," with an airy wave, he turned around and walked away from her, his maroon blazer waving slightly in the breeze. She gritted her teeth. Len was such an infuriating idiot; why couldn't he be more like his sister? Rin was a million times nicer than her brother.

"Maybe I should get back to class, though," she admitted quietly, still staring after his back. "Don't want to give him any more excuses to put me in detention now, do I?" she glanced up at the blue sky, watching as the fluffy white clouds rolled slowly over her head. It was such a wonderful day; pity she would have to go back to class, then. But since the Head of the Discipline Committee had made her…well, what could she do?

A small smile flitted across her lips, though, at the thought of the idiot – she couldn't deny that it was always fun to talk to someone like him. Len was annoying at times, but he could be fun. At other times. Sometimes. And she always got the feeling, somehow, that he wasn't used to talking to her…that he didn't quite know what to say to her, on occasion – if the stuttering that occurred at times was any indication of that.

He didn't stutter this time, but she remembered that sometimes, when he saw her, he would trip over his words, averting his gaze from her. Like he didn't quite dare to face her. She found that rather cute, actually – not that she would admit that. "You're such an idiot, Len," she muttered, pushing herself away from the tree. She wondered why he would stutter when he saw her at times, and be so poised and confident at other times. He was a puzzle to her, and she couldn't help being curious about him, because Miku had always been able to read people well…read everyone well, other than Len Kagamine.

Perhaps, since he had basically forced her to go for detention, she would be able to observe him more, and know him better. She couldn't be sure, but she thought that perhaps, if Len was the one watching over her…perhaps detention wouldn't be quite as boring as she had originally assumed it might be. One could only hope.

* * *

"Why do I hear running sounds…?" Luka turned to Oliver, who was standing next to Rin, a sheepish look on his face. Rin was looking crossly at him, clearly unhappy with her boyfriend. There was a flash of teal as the person ran past Luka, and then it was gone – Luka blinked, startled. The teal was swiftly followed by bright blond. Luka noticed that the bright blond belonged to Len – then the Student Council executive was gone as well.

"It's my stupid brother," Rin sighed, "he's chasing after Miku again. Isn't that supposed to be your job?" she looked pointedly at Oliver, who flushed and looked down at his shoes. "You seriously want to allow Len to run after Miku? You know how he feels about her," she groaned, smacking her boyfriend on the shoulder. "He's just going to chase her, and chase her, and try to catch her, and she's just going to keep on running away from him – because I'm pretty damn sure she can sense his feelings for her, she's just trying to deny it, jeez." Rin glanced at the pair, who was now quite a distance away.

Luka laughed softly – it was a calm, melodious sound. "Perhaps Oliver calling for Len's help was a good thing, then," the pink haired girl said wisely. "Then Len will finally have a chance to catch Miku. You know what he was like, before," Luka eyed Oliver and Rin knowingly. "Just sitting here, staring helplessly at her like the idiot he is. Now that Oliver has actually asked Len to help with making Miku obey the school rules, I suppose that he feels like he has the permission to interact with her now?" Luka shrugged.

Rin thought for a while. "That makes sense, since it's coming from Len's point of view," she sniffed. "He is so weird at times. I mean, he likes her, why didn't he just go out there and ask her out? But he didn't want to because he was so bad at communicating anything which isn't part of the school rules," Rin sniffed again. "I am so disappointed in him," she announced to no one in particular. Luka just smiled in quiet amusement.

Oliver, who was feeling rather left out at this point, cut in. "Wait, Len likes Miku?" he blurted out – Oliver had never been particularly up-to-date with rumours and gossip. Rin cut her boyfriend a blank look; he returned her look with a stare that said 'What?' He genuinely had no idea…if he had known, perhaps he would not have asked Len for help, despite him being the Head of the Discipline Committee. If Len had a crush on the teal haired rebel, then…_he would be more lenient with her than with others, right?_

"He's liked her forever, ever since he saw her at Orientation as freshmen," Rin said bluntly, answering Oliver's question. "But he never knew how to talk to her without sounding like a moron, so he just tried to stay away from her as much as possible. I guess it didn't help that every time he spoke to her, he ended up giving her a lecture about the school rules and such. He's spent way too much time as a Student Council Executive," Rin rolled her eyes in disdain. She wondered why her twin was so different from her, at times. He was incredibly awkward when it came to girls. Especially Miku.

"Huh," was all Oliver said in response, scarcely interested in the details. "I wonder why he was chasing her?" he added, as an afterthought. Rin and Luka exchanged a glance at that; indeed, why was Len running after Miku? "Probably because she broke some school rule again," Oliver answered his own question, tugging absent-mindedly on a thick lock of his pale blond hair. "Len will probably give her more detention for this…"

Rin tugged on Oliver's hair as well, causing him to gasp in pain. "You are so sadistic, Oliver," she fumed. "Remind me why we're together again?" It was really silly, to tell the truth. They were boyfriend and girlfriend since the start of the year, eight months ago – Oliver had asked her out, she agreed, and she gradually grew to like him. It didn't start out as a mutual crush – but now, no matter how much she appeared to bully her boyfriend, she didn't think she would be as happy as she was now without him.

"Because you love me," Oliver said cheerily, giving her a cheesy wink. Rin and Luka made simultaneous gaging noises. Oliver frowned, annoyed, as he slapped Rin's hand away from his hair. "What? I know you do. You told me that just the other day, under the maple tree in the courtyard – "Oliver's words were cut off as Rin clamped a hand over his mouth, smiling stiffly at Luka, who was staring at them with a look of interest on her face. Oliver made a bunch of muffled noises which could not be interpreted as words.

"It's nothing, Luka!" Rin chirped. "I'm just going to bring my boyfriend off somewhere – we have a long overdue discussion about _that_, don't we? About openly proclaiming our affections in front of _certain_ _people_?" She eyed Oliver evilly, and the boy swallowed, suddenly rather fearful for his life. Luka just continued looking at them interestedly, not quite following the conversation between boyfriend and girlfriend. Rin smiled tightly. "Well, see you, Luka! Keep a lookout for Len and Miku, all right?" she said winningly.

Then the blonde girl dragged her boyfriend away, all the while keeping her hand over his mouth. Luka just gaped after them, still surprised by what was going on. In the end, she decided that it might be better to just let the couple resolve their issues on their own…it was more interesting to look out for Miku now, anyway. Len had liked her for a _really _long time, she knew, and it would be fun to see how he made a move now.

If the blond boy ever got the courage to make any sort of move, that was.

* * *

Miku glared sullenly at the Head of the Discipline Committee, who was staring right back at her, his expression carefully neutral. "Are you going to keep looking at me for the whole hour? Can't you look elsewhere? You're making me feel uncomfortable," she finally proclaimed, when she could no longer withstand the weight of that stare. He seemed to jolt upright in his seat, startled that she had talked to him of her own accord. Miku usually didn't make any attempt to speak to him, since he was her 'enemy' of sorts – she was the school rebel, and he was a Student Council Executive, after all.

"I don't have anyone else to look at," he pointed out bluntly. Miku scowled – he did have a point. He continued watching her with those cerulean eyes, and the longer he looked, the more she fidgeted in her seat, an unwelcome warmth spreading across her cheeks – no, why did she have to blush now, of all times? He was not supposed to be affecting her in any way. Sure, he was cute, but that didn't mean she was attracted to him, was she?

"Look away!" she finally snapped at him, turning her face away from his intense scrutiny. He smiled a little – it was a smile of obvious amusement – and then he shook his head. _No._ She scowled some more; why was Len so…infuriating? "You really have nothing better to do with your time, do you?" she asked pointedly. "Chasing me down during lunch break, watching over me now as I am stuck in detention…why don't you do something more productive? Like go out and get a girlfriend or something," she said, her tone snarky. She watched, satisfied, as a faint blush spread over his face at her words.

"I'm the Head of the Discipline Committee. It's my job to watch out for people who break the school rules – and attempting to throw a dollop of mashed potato at the back of someone's head most definitely breaks the school rules, Hatsune," he said evenly. He didn't say anything about the finding a girlfriend comment, and she found that strangely disappointed her. She was looking forward to seeing how he would react to her words.

"Well, since this is your job, then why did you get Oliver to try and chase me down all this time? Why didn't you step in and do something about my rebelliousness yourself?" she retorted, this time a little snappishly. He recoiled a bit at her words, his blue eyes widening slightly – she wondered if she ought to feel bad for how harsh she sounded, but in the end she decided that this wasn't her fault. If he hadn't dragged her into detention, they wouldn't be having this very uncomfortable discussion now.

"I-I'm not, um, obligated to answer…uh, your question," he finally managed to force out. There he was. He was stuttering again. Miku could not help but wonder why. "And, um, we're having detention now," suddenly, he regained his poise and calm. "You shouldn't be talking to me, Hatsune," he cautioned, "even if your older brother does happen to be the President of the Student Council." Miku just huffed and rolled her eyes at his words, slumping further down onto her chair. She didn't want to focus at all upon Len, at this moment. He was infuriating her so much – and why couldn't he answer that question?

She didn't talk to him for the rest of the hour, nor did he talk to her – as she had requested, he stopped looking at her, instead choosing to read a book. She glanced at the title of the book, just curious about what he was reading – she was rather surprised to see that the book was _Lord of the Flies. _She liked that particular book as well. Miku was an avid reader, despite her outward rebelliousness, and it was always a pleasant surprise to find someone who read the same kind of books she did...even if the other person happened to be someone who irritated her – and amused her – to no end.

Finally, one hour of silence and sheer boredom was up, and Miku rose up from her chair, packing her bag loudly – she had whiled the time away doing her homework, which was so easy that it had taken her less than fifteen minutes to complete. She reminded herself to bring a book for tomorrow's detention – she knew better than to skip detention again. She didn't want to risk Len reporting her to the discipline master; the man was known to have a remarkably acid tongue, and she didn't want to be subjected to that.

"Same time, same place tomorrow, then," Len slid a bookmark into the book, marking out where he had stopped, before he closed the book and pushed away from the desk. Miku stared hard at him, and he shifted uneasily under the weight of her emerald eyes. She had very pretty eyes; he could never help but notice that. They had been in the same class during their sophomore year, and he sat a few seats away from her then, he recalled – every time she deigned to show up for class, he always got distracted by her eyes and her lazy smile, as she reclined easily in her chair, confident and sure.

"You like William Golding?" she tilted her head in the direction of the book Len was holding. He looked down with a start – the author's name stared back at him. He blinked, slowly looking up at her – he nodded, unsure of how he was expected to react. His heart was racing in his chest – why did he feel so nervous? Ah, because he was talking to her now, and it wasn't about discipline issues…he would be the first person to admit he was quite silly. He wanted to talk to her – _but I guess I just never know how to communicate with her properly, and it always ends up lapsing into detention and blustering…_ "I like him too," she said eagerly, her emerald eyes sparkling with an enthusiastic light. He stared at her, mesmerised by her gaze. "…maybe we could talk about this tomorrow?"

Was she making a suggestion? He swallowed, then nodded, clutching the book tight to hide his trembling fingers. She shot him a breezy smile – a smile filled with confidence and life, as was characteristic of her nature – then she swept past him, out of the classroom. He stared after her, his eyes wide, wondering what had just happened. _And I missed another opportunity to talk normally to her…not that I would know what to say to her, anyway, even if she had stayed. _Len worried his lip, his gaze slightly unfocused.

He didn't know whether she was interested in him the way he was fascinated by her. He wouldn't fault her for disliking him, since every time he spoke to her, he gave her detention – but that was because he didn't know what else to say. He had so many things he wished he could tell her, but he never had the courage to do so. He sighed, watching the doorway; she was already gone, but he couldn't stop himself from looking forward to tomorrow. She said she wanted to talk to him, didn't she?

Maybe there was hope for him, after all?

* * *

_**Solitaryloner: **__I know it seems incomplete. I'll post the second part to this story next time. This can be read as a story by itself, which is why I'm posting the parts separately._


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